Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care
by dahliadenoire
Summary: AU/Highschool. Lavi/Kanda. There is no dark side of the moon. As a matter of fact, it's all dark. The only thing that makes it look bright is the sun. But Lavi is even brighter than sunshine, that it lighted up Kanda's world a little too much.
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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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**1. Prologue**

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'_Established in the early years of the dark 19th century, Black Order Religious University is probably the oldest institution of learning in modern England under control by the Vatican and the Pope.'_

A certain redhead wasn't, to be truthfully honest, excited nor thrilled today. Another year has passed and Lavi had now been, should we say, promoted, to a senior. The thought itself made him felt so old. But he can't hide the feeling of accomplishment as his sophomore years were over and another year of hard studying will again take place.

He walked from the dormitory he was staying to school. As he passed by the grotesque, old-looking pillars that seem to overshadow him, he saw a large group of people crowding over something what appeared to be the bulletin board, where the students' assigned classes were posted. The people were distinct and each one was unique. From blondshells to brunettes, pale skin to very dark browns, they were all so different.

'_A prestigious international school of only a few chosen people. A society of young men and women from all over the world, be it Asia or Europe, from the middle east to America. It provides primary to tertiary education, which is a rare thing in universities.'_

Lavi thought for a moment. He was planning to just barge in to every room and see if he belonged to that class. It wasn't the brightest idea in the whole world and he chose to be surprised. But since he was already near the boundary of the bulletin board, he might as well check it out. He tried to gently push off the crowd and see if he can catch a glimpse of his name among the alphabetically arranged names on the stapled papers on the board. And before he could even read his own name, the first one that caught his eye was Kanda Yu. His bright green eye turned completely round by the time he saw his own name not too far from Kanda's name. He couldn't believe they were actually on the same class this year, which happened oh-so-rarely ever since they started school together. Lavi pursed his lips, trying to stop the smile that was forcefully finding its way to his face. The now cheerful redhead scanned the other names on the lists and saw new, unfamiliar ones.

'_A lot of new kids enrolled, Luluch Lumpuruge, Zero Keeryu, Setsuna Seimeii, Allen Walker, Gin Toshi, Cielo Funtomhive.. huh.. weirdly-named kids these year.'_

Why did he even bother? He literally memorized all of the names of everyone inside the campus, janitors and maintenance crew included. It wasn't like he had a choice nor can he quite help it. As long as information starts to travel to his brain, it just sticks there, never coming out, like it was _recorded_ or something and will stay there unless you perform a brain surgery on him. It was one of the reasons he got accepted into this school.

'_An institution consisting of only scholars with special talents, each with their own specialty and skill. Academically or by physical prowess, everyone has a certain gift. The Headmasters decided to call it our Innocence.'_

Lavi found his way out of the crowd and decided to go to his respective class. 3-D, he wondered, the class where he could actually be with his best friend. Another smile formed on his lips. His thoughts were eventually snapped when a soft voice was heard in front of him. Lavi looked ahead and saw one of his schoolmates, a girl with faded blond hair of long length, and eyes of obsidian. Three other girls followed not too far behind her.

"A pleasant morning to you, Lavi." the girl greeted politely and smiled which Lavi replied playfully, saying a cheerful, "G'morning." The girl giggled in response.

'_Antoinette Monde, daughter of an earl in France, can play ten instruments and sang for the queen, a senior.'_

Lavi again was greeted by a short yet beautiful woman. He recognized the face instantly and the information found its way to his thoughts again.

'_Maria Ramizah, a daughter of a rich businessman in Brunei, can solve multiple and difficult math problems in a second. A senior of 3-A.'_

Accidentally, the names on the list earlier were recorded as well. More and more people started to greet him as he walked through the dim hallways.

'_Robert Bingley, the heir to the Bingley Corporation located in Malta, has photographic memory and can speak twenty different languages with utmost fluency. A little similar to my talent. A spunky sophomore, member of the basketball team.'_

As people stopped to greet the lovable man that was Lavi, their family history kept on entering his mind. He knew everything and there was little possibility he would forget it. Shortly after, he left the long hallway and entered into a circular clearing, where the classrooms were located. There was an elevator in the middle of the room which seemed to be overused by students.

'_This school is_ _populated by students of great status and high family hierarchy, and of different race and nationality.'_

Without realizing it, Lavi bumped into someone, a rather familiar man he knew. He had black hair that curled at the ends, a white hat covered the top part of his head and his eyes were covered by circular reading glasses. The older man smiled at him, holding a cup of coffee in his right hand and a balanced tower of papers on the other, the younger one was amazed at the man's sense of balance and decided to shrug it off.

"Lavi! Good to see you again! Never thought I'd find you here due to your class-skipping the previous year! I don't know how you managed to pass without even trying to bribe me or Principal Hevlaska," the man laughed, his voice had a goofy, cheerful tune in it.

'_Komui Li, the supervisor and head chief of the university, can stay awake for two weeks, and has ADHD. Has a sister complex, and he's a science professor too. He's a sadist, always preparing school events that he_knew_students wouldn't like. I knew him since I was seven, he also likes to build robots that are designed to harm anyone except his sister. Quite a crazy man he is.'_

"I bet you asked Sir Bookman a favor," he chuckled again as he still managed to balance the tower of paperwork in one hand, he continued, "Have you seen Lenalee? She seems to avoid me lately! She must be in her rebellious stage!" Komui wailed, and seems to figuratively cry rivers of tears. Lavi just laughed nervously, "Maybe if you try not clinging to her that much—"

"I do _not_ cling on her!" the older man pouted, in this case, Lavi appeared to be the more mature one, considering his already childish behavior.

"If you keep acting like a wuss, she might find another man to replace you." Komui stopped all of a sudden, his eyes narrowing slowly, a gesture which the redhead couldn't help but feel a little scared. Just when the redhead decided to tease the man a bit, Komui ran off in high speed to find his sister, Lenalee, and catching her before another man does. Brilliant.

Lavi sighed.

'_It is a major center of research and education, held by people of great minds and authority. It is a graduate center in many specialized and complicated fields.'_

A few _hi's_and _good morning's_ later, the apprentice bookman arrived at his room, 3-D. There were only a few people inside, others greeted him, some were new faces that he memorized in just one quick glance. A boy approached him and patted his shoulder.

'_Nathaniel Kararagi, son of a sergeant in the Philippines. Perfectly skilled in combat, especially in self-defense and capable of using armed weapons and expert in military firearms. And a point guard in our basketball team.'_

"Lavi, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be voted captain again this year, the team just loves you." the said boy praised. He had spiky black hair and tan skin would always be seen wearing a smile.

"You kiddin' me? I don't _think_, I fucking _know_ I'll be captain again!" Lavi half-kiddingly, half-seriously joked while a confident, cocky grin was plastered on his face. Nathaniel chuckled at the older boy, his right palm over his mouth to muffle his chuckles. The secure beam in the redhead's eyes changed into round emerald orbs when he saw a very recognizable face appear by the doors of his room.

"Lena!" Lavi yelled happily, excitement filled in his smile and was evident in his eyes. His arms were wide open, as if trying to ask for a hug from the younger woman. Lenalee smiled kindly back at him as she went inside, "Don't be so cocky, Lavi! I heard your bragging from the halls." she giggled lightly, amused by the redhead's antics.

'_Lenalee Li, sister of the school's Supervisor Komui, can run at the speed of sound and jump higher than any other, a varsity in Track and Field and High Jump in our team. I knew her since I was a child.'_

He wasn't aware of how long he had been together with Lenalee and Kanda. All he knew was they had been together since they were still children, since they have been taken into this religious school as one of the scholars.

"Huh? You're not with Kanda?" the Chinese girl asked. She expected a black-haired boy with Lavi. The boy replied with a shake of his head. Her dark pupils were suddenly filled with curiosity. "Where is he?"

His eyes widened. That was the question Lavi was still trying to figure out since this morning, when he woke up, the mentioned Japanese man was already gone, he _did _cook breakfast though before he left. His roommate was always silent, and didn't interact with other people unless it was necessary. He's rude, curses a lot, calls him names, hits people, throws deadly tantrums, gets angry a lot—

Let's just say he wasn't the nicest person under the sun.

Although he was a little thankful the older boy was nice enough to leave some tempura on the table, he was saddened, more so, confused that the boy left without saying anything, which was usually his character but he thought this day would be different and expected that he would act more nicely than before.

"Huh. I dunno, honestly."

"You share the same room with him and you don't know?"

"Well.."

"You're hopeless!" he got a playful jab to the arm from the girl.

Lenalee sighed with regards to the boy's stupidity and lack of concern and decided not to hurt him more. True, she enjoyed hitting him, but it was the first day of classes after all.

"If you're looking for Kanda, I saw him training at Gym 3, I was suppose to practice there for club but he was there since dawn." the owner of the voice was a fairly tanned girl and with eyes sparkling with onyx. Lavi recognized the face.

'_Teresa De Luna, heiress to the Moonfarms Corporation of dairy products located in Guatemala, mastered distinct arts of traditional Mayan dancing, really flexible girl I must say. A senior of the same class.'_

"Since dawn? He must be tired." Lenalee replied, concern filled her voice.

"Nah, Yu can handle it."

As their conversation revolved around their friend, the bell rang as few minutes or so passed, signaling the start of classes. A few shouts of surprise, groans of disappointments, curses were heard, and he barely noticed Lenalee bidding a quick goodbye before running off to her own classroom. Some of the students rushed over to their chairs 'cause if luck wasn't on their side, they might have Cross or Zokalo as their class adviser or homeroom teacher.

As Lavi last remembered the room, it was populated by less than ten students but teens started to barge in, obviously in a rush, some hurried to tie their neckties and wear the uniform's black vest which the students weren't really fond of but had no choice since it was part of the dress code. He, by the way, didn't notice he lacked the black necktie, but he never really followed the dress code in the first place.

One of the students that blended in the crowd was a black-haired man, his long straight hair tied into a low ponytail, his temples stained with beads of sweat and his bag clumsily filled with a change of clothes for his daily practice, as if it were packed in a rush.

Kanda Yu walked into class, his uniform worn neatly, unobvious that he changed in such a hurry. Lavi found himself observing the man, as he took a seat two chairs away from Lavi's right. Soon after, all the seniors were seated.

Lavi, still observing Kanda, found the older boy staring at him too. The redhead grinned at him with his usual cheerful smile, but the smaller man chose to ignore him. He was slightly upset but since he was used to Kanda's reactions and responses, it didn't bother him much. The eyepatched man was suddenly jerked from his thinking when a loud bang resounded through the entire room. It came from the teacher's table. Cloud Nyne banged her books on the table, as if purposely trying to gain attention of the students, which worked. Lavi's vision focused on the woman standing in front of the classroom. Golden locks covered half of her face, a slightly evident scar across the bridge of her nose to her eye. A wild ponytail held forwardly up by a barrette. Her curvy figure accentuated by the business suit-like outfit she was wearing.

'_Cloud Nyne, one of the five Headmasters of the university. She's our math professor, and unfortunately, our adviser. Very strict, and straightforward. I usually see her being wooed by Cross last year, I wouldn't dare talk badly at her, if I want my head attached to my shoulders.'_

He didn't know if he should be happy or not. Their adviser was the beautiful lady that was known as Cloud. For one thing, he was happy 'cause they got themselves a hot adviser — his mind was practically shouting _strike_— and a little worried because the lady was very strict and would literally cut your fingers if she ever caught any of the students doing a bad deed, cheating, cutting classes and the like.

When the blond woman turned her back from the students, and faced towards the board to write her name, Lavi was suddenly hit by something soft and silky that sent an impact to his shoulder, he muttered a silent cry of fake pain as the thrown thing slowly slid down to his palms. He turned his head down, right on his hands was a necktie.

His eyes widened for a moment, when he looked to his right, his gaze passed through the other two students that had blocked Kanda's figure and seemed to be blurred in the boy's left eye, he saw Kanda looking at him, his palms balled and was under his jaw, his elbow on the table supporting his head. The Japanese man glared at him as his mouth opened, and mouthed words without any sound.

'_Baka-usagi.'_

The junior Bookman quickly tied the necktie around his neck and was neatly done by the time Cloud turned around. She wore a discontented scowl. Their teacher began to speak. To Lavi, her words were blurred as the redhead smiled at Kanda with such warmth that anyone could've felt it. He mouthed a word without a sound.

'_Thanks.'_

For all Kanda knew, he had already predicted Lavi wouldn't wear his necktie.

'_Kanda Yu, a descendant of a clan of samurais in Japan. Flawlessly skilled in Kendo and is quick with his movements. He can't speak fluently in English but knows a few Asian languages. Also took up archery, and has this weird talent; that everytime I see him and without even doing anything, he makes me smile.'_

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**A/N: This is just a prologue, people, and please go easy on me. I finished the damned thing at 3 in the morning. -so tired- I can't sleep so I made a fic and after I finished, I drank 3 cups of Chamomile Tea. Update next week or a few days.**

**I don't own D Gray-Man.**

**Thanks for**** ritachi**** for the helpful review :D**


	2. Brightest

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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**2. Brightest**

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Lenalee Li found herself staring into space, her eyes deliberately monitored every movement of the clock that was hanging just above the blackboard and above the teacher's head. One hour has passed already, but the newcomers weren't introduced yet. They were still probably being interviewed by Hevlaska.

She thought about it, she didn't know how Principal Hevlaska looked like. None of the students know, really. Go to the principal's office and expect an empty chair together with a speaker on top of the table, where you can only communicate with the principal. Her brother didn't mention anything about it, but she did knew that the five Headmasters and some chosen people were the only human beings to be able to see the principal in person.

She turned her head to the right, an empty chair was the only thing her eyes found. She looked to the left and found her own reflection on the window glass. The Chinese girl sighed, she hadn't been paying any attention to any of her homeroom teacher's lectures, as he explained the rules and regulations, accompanied by a long series of the university's history.

The sound of knocking filled her ears as she turned her head towards the door. The newcomers, she thought. The wooden metal-plated door opened, making a creaking sound as it slid slowly, revealing a young white-haired boy who seemed to be the same age as herself. A little younger maybe, the boy was a little too short. Lenalee hated to admit it, sure, the boy's appealing, but he has _got_ to do something with his height. Drink milk or something.

"This is Allen Walker. He's new to the campus, so please help him out."

Lenalee noticed the red markings on the boy's face, and a bandaged left arm. He was suspicious in a confusing way, but the boy's face appears to be very innocent, as if he couldn't even kill a bug.

"Uh—Good morning..! I'm Allen Walker, pleasant to meet you!" Allen bowed his head down, his torso a little downward too. The girl mentally told herself off as she started judging the boy. Based from his voice, he sounded very nice. She slapped herself, not mentally this time for judging the new student again. That doubtlessly meant she liked him.

Her deep thoughts were snapped when she heard Reever, their homeroom teacher, said something, "Allen, take your seat next to Lenalee. That chair over that side." the blond man pointed his finger towards Lenalee's direction. This empty seat next to her? Huh.

Allen muttered a courteous thanks, and proceeded to walk over to his appointed chair. During his very short journey to his chair, he heard giggles and some were mumbling which sounded like, disapproval? Consent? He could say he didn't know, and didn't mind as well. He just hoped he could be accepted here with open arms.

Reever faced the board and wrote something in English, copying from the handbook of some sort.

Allen, once seated, placed his bag down and tried to be comfortable on the half-wooden half-metal chair. He looked to his left to see a vibrant girl with two pigtails on either side of her head. The girl noticed and smiled at him. Allen felt somewhat welcomed by the girl's smile. Lenalee opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm Lenalee Li! Nice to meet you!"

"Ah! I'm.. I'm.. Allen!" the boy said nervously.

She giggled. "I know." Years of normal human social deprivation got to him. She continued, "I'll show you around campus if you want to."

"I'd be happy to! Uh—thank you."

"No problem! Do you stay on the dormitories or does your parents pick you up?"

"I—well.." It was a little awkward for Allen to talk about 'parents'. But he didn't want to show his uneasiness to this person, whom he could actually be friends with. "I was assigned to a dormitory building, but, I'm afraid I have no knowledge in how to get there." Allen was confused when she giggled again.

"You talk way too politely." The girl teased.

"I apologize."

"There you go again."

"Uh, I apolo— I mean, sorry." she chuckled, her smile got wider, and warmer. Allen smiled back, and thought. She was a really nice person.

"Oh, by the way, what dorm were you assigned to?"

"C-14, I forgot my room number though."

"I always go there after school! You can come with me."

"But, aren't the dorms separated by gender?" To Allen's surprise, the casual speaking actually worked for him.

"I always bring food to my two friends there, they never did cook anything healthy. Let me tell you, one of them can only cook either tempura or soba, the other one depends on instant noodles and convenience store meals. And if both of them aren't in the mood for cooking, they're willing to starve themselves. Honestly, I won't be surprised if they died early."

Allen chuckled genuinely for the first time that day. "That's terrible! Uh.." He was truly concerned about those two people the girl mentioned, who wouldn't be?

"You can call me in anyway you like..." she paused to look at him, then tilted her head sideways and continued, "...Allen." she smiled again, with that kindhearted bright smile of hers, the brightest he had ever seen. An almost unnoticeable blush found its way across Allen's cheeks. "I mean, we're friends now, right?"

"O-of course." Allen grinned back at her and nodded, he was lucky he was seated right next to Lenalee.

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Lenalee Li miscalculated the silver-haired boy. He was actually really talkative and cheerful and made her smile in everything he had to say. He reminded her of Lavi, however, Lavi's cheerfulness and warmth is enough to outshine the sun itself. She slightly smiled at the mere thought. Also, he wasn't as short as she thought he would be. She was only a few centimeters taller than the new student.

The classes were over at about five in the afternoon while the sun started to go down. Allen and Lenalee headed towards the building C dorms. They weren't longer inside the school grounds since the dormitories were a few blocks away. The British boy, together with his carriage of clothes and other things, walked beside the Chinese girl, having casual conversations with her every now and then.

"So, was Headmaster Cross really that bad of a tutor? I heard he was really harsh and lazy and all but I think he's a kind man."

"Kind?! Weren't you listening to me a while ago? He made me gamble, made me pay for his debts and—"

"Alright, alright. Calm down." Lenalee decided to cut the boy off before he snapped.

"Lenalee, are the people in there.. nice?" The girl looked at his narrowed, doubtful eyes which pointed to the nearing view of a building.

"You mean the dorms? Super! I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms!" the slightly taller girl gave him a reassuring smile, to get rid of Allen's anxious expression. "I'm not sure about Kanda though." Lenalee spoke to herself, her words more silent, as if she didn't want to let the other teen hear.

"Did you say something, Lenalee?"

"_Bú yào j__ǐ__n!_"

"Huh?"

"I mean, never mind."

"Oh, that's awesome."

"What?"

"I never did learn any other language. Or more so, I didn't feel the need to."

"Well, Chinese was my first language to ever learn." She continued after a short pause, "Hey, Allen? What's your Innocence? It's impossible to get in here without a certain talent."

"Oh! I remembered the principal say something about that. You mean what I'm capable to do, right?"

"Yup."

"I can play the piano and memorize any song or tune once I hear it. I'm also good in poker, if that counts. I can speak a little Japanese and English. Pretty simple, I guess."

Sure, Lenalee was amazed at the piano part, a little freaked out with the poker part, but what struck her was; his utmost normality. It was not like she looked down on him, no, very far from that. But she was more of relieved, somewhat happy. It was nice to see an unpretentious person once in a while. Lenalee was tired of all those talented, big-headed students who irked her a little. She'd like to call her skills normal though. The only people she was not overawed of was Kanda and Lavi. Yes, they had extraordinary minds, but maybe she was too exposed to them that she didn't really grasped it.

"It's really nice to have you here."

"Hm..?"

The girl looked down on the slightly shorter man. Her hands clasped together behind her. "You're very normal, but in a good way!" she said cheerfully and giggled. He just took it as a compliment and smiled.

The sky cascaded off the orange afternoon clouds. Bright warm colors gradually faded as the sky was soon covered by dark heavy rain clouds, shoving any colors to the background.

"Looks like it's going to rain soon." Allen said, looking up at the sky.

"You better get used to it though, It rains here more than any other place in Europe."

"I lived in London, I'm pretty much used to it."

"Then you're going to live just fine here. There's no scientific explanation for it, really, rumors said the atmosphere here is always gloomy and rainy because of the school's past."

"Past?"

"Since we talked through homeroom earlier, you probably didn't hear Sir Reever's lecture. During the 19th century, some said there was an unrecorded holy war between demons and humans. To exterminate the demons, the school building was a place for humans to be turned into Exorcists. I don't believe it though, it's too sci-fi for me! Whoever started that rumor reads too much manga. _Wú zhù de._"

Allen thought about, it was cool. He was amazed at the place. He sometimes wondered how he got into this prestigious university. After all, the school was hidden above the mountains, the mountain range covering the tall building of the school and the wide area of the vicinity. It was far from civilization.

Allen stopped his thinking as well as his steps as Lenalee's walking stopped in front of the dormitories.

"That's Building C." Lenalee pointed a building, far from where they were standing. It was hidden by tall trees but Allen can see it clearly from his view. "Building A and D are the dorms for girls, male students aren't allowed inside without a permission slip by the R.A."

"What about you? Do you need a permission slip to enter too?"

"Supposedly. But, I'm special." Lenalee winked playfully and let out a soft giggle. "Komui is my _zhăng xiōng_. My big brother. He's the Supervisor of the school." Allen's orbs rounded up, his eyes turning big.

"He's your brother? He wanted to experiment with my left arm!" the Chinese lady wasn't surprised at all. For some obvious reason. Allen just sighed when he heard Lenalee's soft laugh. The boy looked around the place, as his face got hit by the soft gust of the cold breeze.

The neighborhood was large, it was wide in area, probably as big as two football stadiums or bigger. The buildings were a little modern in style and had three levels each. The structure was rectangular, no complicated shapes. Its walls were smoothly painted in white, with chestnut oak wooden outdoor panelings, giving it a modern Asian exterior and vibe. The entrance doors were big, wooden and mahogany in color. There were verandas on each windows, implying each room was given a veranda. The door and windows that were seen from the balcony were glass. Large-scaled glass. Allen was undeniably amazed, it seemed so different from the school's main exterior which clearly gives off Gothic vibes. It reminded him of a certain wizardry school he read from some novel. The only thing missing from the school's architecture were gargoyles. He laughed mentally.

"Let's go?_"_ the dark-haired lady asked. Allen stared at her and nodded. "Dorm Buildings A and C were renovated last year, it was once in stonewalls, can you imagine?"

"That's bloody amazing." Lenalee, silently, giggled at the boy's slang.

The ground they were walking on had light gray cobblestone pavement which muffled the sound of Allen's heavy shoes. The stone pavement followed a path to all the doors of the buildings. In this case they were heading for the other entrance door of Building C as for the front door was overly crowded. As the girl walked ahead of him, for assistance, the newcomer turned his head to the right, a few seniors, he presumed, were talking and laughing out loud. It must be nice to meet old friends again. To his left were a few men of probably the same ages of the seniors, were hanging out by the koi pond.

Allen observed the place more. Trees seemed to surround the area, giving the place its cool breeze, providing unnecessary shade to a place constantly covered in dark clouds. It was like a rainforest mixed with Asian gardens. He was awed by the sight. The whole area, including the school, had a mix of European and Asian atmosphere.

The green foliage were, mostly, immensely tall pine trees, giving Allen the impression of Siberia. Pine cones were carelessly scattered on the ground. Leaves swayed with the wind every once in a while. Every tree, bush and plant was in full bloom. It was spring after all.

It was a long walk from the campus to the dorms, he thought. He scanned the place once more, and eventually passed by Buildings A and B. It has almost the same exterior designs. The wooden paneling were the only thing to distinguish the other building from another and the large wooden letter _A_and _B_ that was hanging on top of every front door. When his head went back to the north direction, his thoughts were expecting a back that belongs to his pigtailed friend but instead found out that his pretty friend was gone. He looked down on the ground and found grass. No stone pavements.

Fuck.

"No way! I got lost?" Allen asked himself incredulously. He got lost _that_ easily?! He was too taken in by the scenery, he was like inside a painting. "Fuck, and this place is big too. I need to find Lenalee or a way to get inside."

He studied his current state and location. There were no people, there are trees and bushes everywhere. He concluded that he was somewhere at the back of the building, so he just needed to go around the dorm and will eventually find a door.

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"Eh..?" Lenalee arrived inside the dormitory grounds, by the time she looked behind her, Allen was gone. A few men greeted her as she passed by them. They saw her everyday with Lavi and Kanda. It was like a regular norm for all of them.

The Chinese girl made a decision to visit Lavi and Kanda's room, and maybe she could make them help her find her lost friend. Their room, 142, wasn't too far and with her running speed, proceeded there. But, Lenalee found their room empty.

The dark-haired girl sighed, her loud exhale filled the empty room. She looked around the place and noticed that the bunk bed were complete opposites. The lower bunk ,where Kanda sleeps, was neatly made. Blankets ironed and folded, pillows flopped on the head of the bed. The top one, however, was a mess. Blankets were crumpled, unfolded, as if the person just threw off the blankets and went on with his life. There were traces of potato chip wrappers too. The bottom bed was bigger than the top one, as for the bottom was in full size and the top was only in twin size. It was made of hardwood, chestnut oak to be precise.

Her observation was swiftly interrupted when a freshman, whom she knew, barged into the room. His hands were on his knees and was panting slightly.

"Sawada.. Yusuke?"

"Li-san, c-come quick! There was a new guy— Kanda-senpai is—!"

Before the Japanese freshman could even finish, Lenalee made a run for it. She sensed something terrible, and she hoped that it wasn't what she thought it was. At the entrance, there was a very small crowd. Lenalee pushed them away only to reveal a frightened white-haired boy on the floor, and a black-haired man pointing a, '_Is that a real katana?!'_, at the downed boy.

Lenalee saw Kanda wore a _hakama_ of stiff silk which was colored white on the top and navy blue for the wide trouser legs which means he had just been training. The girl quickly grabbed Kanda's arm. Stern eyes of midnight blue stared at her as serious orbs of auburn stared back at him and as soon as Kanda realized it, his eyes softened very inconspicuously. The currently infuriated girl approached Allen and helped him up.

"Kanda! what were you doing pointing Mugen on Allen!?" the lady defended. Wasn't he only supposed to have a bamboo sword? He's only taking Kendo for crying out loud. "Put that down." She commanded, and tried to be as nice as possible but to no avail. The long-haired person hesitantly placed his arm down.

"Che. He pissed me off."

"I was just asking—"

"What did he do to? Kanda. Tell me." The girl placed her hands on either side of her hips. Honestly, Kanda was annoyed by the sudden domineering voice of his lady friend. He decided to endure it. He had a weak spot for girls, especially for his childhood friend, unfortunately.

"_Moyashi_." Kanda insulted the boy, not answering the girl's question at all.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Allen questioned.

"Kanda.." Lenalee said with a warning tone.

'_Oh, shit. She's really mad now.'_Allen thought.

"I don't care."

Lenalee groaned loudly, angry at the older man. She grabbed Allen roughly by the arm and pulled him by force. The woman's strength was enough for him to be pulled up from his downed position. The British boy cried out in minor pain, "Come on, let's find your room!"

Kanda looked at the girl's retreating back as she dragged the brat with her. The man grunted and sheathed his sword, and headed for the back entrance. He didn't want to bump into Lenalee for the moment, especially when she's with that guy.

Meanwhile, Lenalee headed to the dorm board, where all the new dormers were listed. She was irritated in many ways possible.

'_That Kanda should really get his manners straight!'_

She was angry at him, acting so proud and bastard..ous in front of her new friend. She swore, she'd ask Lavi to annoy the hell out of him. To be securely safe, she'd also make sure Kanda would never see Allen's face again. Even though he was nice to her, she was powerless to stop the samurai from performing a deadly killing spree. Literally and figuratively.

She then saw the list. Her eyes went totally round when she found Allen's name.

"I was just asking for directions then—"

"You're in room 141." she said with a monotonous voice.

"Uh.. is there something wrong?"

"You're in.. Room 141." She repeated in a creepy yet slow manner, still monotonous. She narrowed her eyes.

"Lena..lee?"

"Your room is next to.."

"Who?"

"The one who wanted to kill you." Allen's already wide eyes widened.

"Are you serious?!"

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: I finished at.. exactly 5:29 a.m. I started at three but whew that was fun.**

**I know there is extreme lack of LaviKandaness, but everything needs an introduction, y'knaw? so anyways, there'll be identity crisis for Lavi next chapter,**

**BTW, it's my birthday tomorrow. April 14.**

**I can only write fanfics during dawn, 'cause I'd be watching anime and surfin' stuff on the net all day. Haaayy~ I go internet surfin' naow.**

**I DO NOT OWN.**

**EDIT: Edited the chapter, minor modifications.**


	3. Restless

•

**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

•

* * *

**•**

**3. Restless**

**•**

* * *

The two started to unpack Allen's things as they moved across the room without speaking. The white-haired boy and the girl with pigtails did the unloading in a vastly uncomfortable silence. Lady luck wasn't with the younger teen this time. It was his first day, and he had already been threatened by a sword. Lenalee sighed, her eyes looked around the room. It was smaller than that of Kanda's, and there was only one bed, which meant he wouldn't have to share the room with someone else.

"Will I be having a roommate too?"

Lenalee shook her head, explained that the rooms ending with an even number was a bunk bed room, and the room number ending with an odd digit was a smaller room but with one bed, fitted for a single person only.

The Chinese girl heard heavy footsteps, which sounded too familiar to her. A soft bang of the door was heard soon after. She concluded that Kanda was in his room. Still no sign of Lavi though, there was basketball meeting on first days, and she mentally cheered for him to be the captain again. Before she had gone inside Allen's room, she left two bento boxes inside the other room, Kanda and Lavi were pretty used to it, and they were thankful they had a great cook like Lenalee.

She looked at Allen who busied himself by putting some of his belongings on the drawer right next to his bed. The room was different, as Lenalee last remembered the adjacent room's design. If viewed from the entrance door, to the north was the glass door leading to the veranda, which every room had. The bed was placed on the southwest, a drawer right next to it. The door to the bathroom was located northeast, the doorless open archway that leads to the kitchen was found on the east, just beside the entrance for the bathroom.

There was a lot of space in the room, which made the girl unaccustomed to the big unused space. At least there wasn't a kotatsu hogging all the space in the center of the room. She remembered the permanent kotatsu to be found on the other room, specifically the redhead and the meanie's room.

She was again lost in her own thoughts that she had not heard the boy call her.

"Are you still uneasy, Lenalee? Look, maybe I can go there now and apologi—"

"No!"

The boy immediately sat down back again after the girl's exclamation.

"Kanda must be _really_ pissed off because I acted mean to him, and also because you pissed him off by your existence."

"Well, sorry for living."

"I'm sure you did something, other than existing, that is."

She was right still, Kanda did not get mad for no reason. Allen took a deep breath and gulped, the temperature got a little high. "Well, actually, that wasn't all that happened." Lenalee tilted her head sideward, a gesture she makes when she was either confused or giddy. "You see, I got lost and I saw someone, that Kanda guy practicing kendo, or something, in the nearby garden. He was wearing some Japanese clothing and stuff."

"It's a _hakama._" She corrected. "Then?"

"I just mistook him for a girl, big deal."

"That is the worst thing you can possibly say to him! Besides calling him by his first name. No wonder Kanda got mad at you! Jeez. I'm starting to change sides now." Lenalee hopelessly sighed as the boy threw an apologetic expression on her.

"Then, he tried to kill me with his sword, I thought it was fucking bamboo! For Pete's sake! I was scared when I realized it was cold hard metal. Thank god I dodged it." Allen heaved a loud and heavy sigh, as if trying to get rid of his anxiety and restlessness through his mouth. Lenalee felt bad for him, having to deal with bad terms with the Japanese man on his first day. But she was also thankful, none of them were hurt.

Just then, the wind made a soft banging sound on the veranda's glass door, as if asking for entrance. It was then she noticed the glass was moist, the transparent door showed the outside world, covered with fog. She assumed that it was starting to rain. Her assumption was proved correct when the raindrops started to tap the rooftop, gradually getting louder. They could hear it clearly due to the fact that they were on the highest floor.

"Hah. It did rain."

"Of course, there wasn't a day or night that it didn't rain here. Be it strong and windy, quiet and soft, quick, long-lasting. It always rains. You should get used to it."

Dark eyes widened when Lenalee realized the time, it was already seven in the evening. Komui was probably looking for her now. She forgot her cellphone in her room, and her brother must be really worried about not being able to pick the phone up. She decided to go before the rain gets worse.

"Sorry, Allen! I have to go back now, it's not a good idea to stay too late here. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then."

The girl hurried to put her boots on as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. But before she could entirely get out of the room, she hurried the words to say, "If you ever need anything, I stay on Building A, A-9, Room 100! Bye, Allen." With one last bid of goodbye, the girl was gone.

* * *

Lenalee headed to Komui's office instead of her room. The rain had not poured too hard and her fair-sized umbrella was enough to keep her half dry. She assured that her brother was once again working his ass off inside the office, with a few other people. Komui's office was located inside campus, on the highest floor. Ever since she was junior high, she would always bring her workaholic of a brother coffee, or some sweets she had made. She reminded herself to pass by the kitchen to get something for Komui.

As the big double doors of the huge university came into view, Lenalee spotted a figure, a person, who had just gotten out from the mentioned doors. The combination of the rain and fog made it hard for her to actually see the person but as she got closer to the gate, she saw the familiar face of her friend.

She approached the person, folding her umbrella as she reached the entrance, the roof prevented raindrops to even reach the door.

"Lavi!" she called out, wanting to get the attention of the boy before he could face the opposite direction. A voice was heard behind him making him turn around to face the owner of the voice.

"Lenalee? What are you doing here this late?" the redhead replied, somehow the tone of his voice did not contain his usual cheerfulness, his tone was drowsy, almost dead-like.

"I should be asking you the same question!" the dark-haired girl reprimanded. Her vision was blotted out by the night's humidity and mist, and could barely notice the boy's hazy green eye stare back at her.

"Gramps made me read some books is all." he spoke in an even tone. There were no traces of happiness nor sadness.

Lenalee became aware of the boy's unusual monotony. Gazing at the unpatched eye of the red-haired man before her, concern clouded her brown-green eyes. "Lavi? Are you alright?" He replied with a smile. This time, one that didn't compete the sun's brightness.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Lenalee was not amused. She had no idea how to cheer the boy up. Usually, it was the boy who was capable of doing that. She shrugged it off, hoping he would be his usual cocky self by tomorrow. "By the way, have you seen my brother?"

"Komui? I saw him with some finders at the teacher's lobby, talking about a new kid or something." He said, remembering the time when he passed by the lounge to bid goodbye to his mentor. He couldn't hear what they were saying but his mind recorded information something about a newcomer. His voice changed a little which made a small smile formed in the girl's lips.

"Thanks, Lavi. Heading back to the dorms?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have an umbrella? You might get a cold if you run under the rain!" Lenalee said with concern, offering her folded umbrella to him. Lavi gave her a reassuring smile, saying, "Don't worry, Lena. I have one, you should go now. It's getting late. Komui will, by all means necessary, blame me for your delay."

She let out a nervous laugh, rubbing her hands together for warmth as a cold breeze passed by. "You're right. See you tomorrow."

"See ya tomorrow." Lenalee went inside, waving her hand to him before getting inside. Lavi just raised one hand and smiled.

* * *

The rain poured harder than earlier, its droplets made bulky mud puddles on the grassy ground. It was a little foggy and dim, and the only sources of light were the lampposts that the school provided. The sound of droplets falling and hitting the surface was deafening as the smell of damp soil and nature filled the air.

Lavi ran and headed back to his dorm. He forgot his umbrella, ironically enough, and went through the trouble of running under the rain. The downpour was strong and heavy enough to completely soak his clothes and his whole body, down to every root of his hair. His bag was a waterproof one that was covered by fabric that doesn't absorb water, so he really didn't care about it.

Somehow, his tiredness disappeared. Earlier with Lenalee, he assumed that the girl didn't believe him when he said Bookman forced him to read some books. But he really did what he had said. It was a little more complicated than he thought. Bookman made him read, more like memorize, twenty-five different books about just one subject; history. What else? He read about Celtic, Asian, European, everything. Just the thought of it gave him a migraine.

The basketball meeting earlier took off a little of his tiredness though. He got the position of the captain again, making it two years in a row. He grinned wider despite being harassed by the falling beads of water. He couldn't wait to tell his friend about it. He knew, after knowing Kanda for all these years that, even though he pretended not to listen and not to care, the black-haired man would still be proud and happy, but he wouldn't show it in his face.

He kept thinking about the slightly older boy. When there was nothing else left to be thought of, he would rather think about him. How he combs his hair, the way he cleans the room, the way he would eat his soba, how he would read English books with difficulty. Best friends think of each other, right? So it must be perfectly normal to think about your best friend ever-so-often, right?

He stopped in front of the building, his hands on his knees, panting quick heavy breaths. The redhead was completely wet. Before he could enter the dorm, he violently shook his whole body, similar to that of a dog attempting to dry its fur.

When he walked inside, he got a few _what happened to you's_ and _you're making the floor wet's _said by each guy he passes by. He just laughed it off, and to the others who complained, he replied words of apology. He cursed. His room was on the third floor so he had to endure the coldness that the building's centralized air-conditioning system was providing him.

When the elevator sent him to the highest floor, he walked through the hall, heading over to his respective room and opened the door.

"Yu!" he yelled as a greeting. He dropped his partially damp bag on one side and entered the room, removing his shoes and his soaked socks first. His left eye traveled to the older man who was also wet, but in a different way.

Dark cerulean eyes stared back at him. Gulping, he redirected his eyes. He found that the smaller man was barely dressed. The white towel that was wrapped around lower body slung low on his hips and clung damply to his thighs. Long dark silky hair hung wetly, sticking to the back of his neck. Strands of black clung to his back and the shorter strands of hair at the front clung to his chest, still red from the contact of warm water. Another towel was also sprawled above his head. Lavi assumed he just got out of the showers. His face reddened by reflex.

He tried to pry off his thoughts, moving his hands to rid off the dark vest which turned heavier due to the water that the fabric absorbed. Lavi's feet skated on the hardwood pavement, every step he made left a watery footprint behind.

Kanda looked at him with slightly surprised eyes, and examined the redhead from head to toe. Kanda wasn't sure what it was about him that captured his attention. He had always thought his bright red hair was too damn red though. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled. His skin wasn't lividly pale like his, rather it was evenly tanned. His uniform, also soaked, clung to every muscle on his body, emphasizing his toned muscled arms and abdomen. The fabric of his eye patch were darker, as he thought of this, Lavi took it off, revealing a permanently closed eye with a scar across it. That scarred eye hadn't been seen by anybody else except from him, Lenalee and Komui. He also noticed that he didn't wore that green bandana that he always wore to school, leaving his bright red hair down. He preferred it that way and found it cuter.

Cute? In Kanda Yu's mind, the word cute doesn't exist. Until now. He cringed at the thought.

They stopped and looked at each other as they both redirected their heads as soon as eye contact was made. They would look at any direction as long as it wasn't the direction of the other one's face. Once unseen, their cheeks heated up, giving it a reddish tint.

The long-haired man shoved his unwanted thoughts to the side and grunted. He approached the taller man who was looking at him with that adorable confused expression. Lavi thought he was angry, judging by that grunt just now.

The towel that was once on Kanda's head was suddenly plopped down on Lavi's head, his two hands drying the redhead's hair. Lavi's head leaned down, his eyes now in level with the dark eyes of Kanda. Kanda pushed the towel against the flame-like head, the younger man allowing the other boy to dry his locks. They were in that position for while, not saying anything to each other while doing so.

Another blush found its way to both of the men's cheeks. Lavi's heart pounded loudly and immensely, he hoped Kanda wouldn't hear it. Was it because their faces were too close for his comfort?

Their heartbeats grew louder and faster.

Again, tossing his thoughts to the side, Kanda managed to speak. "Hurry and wash up, idiot. You'll get a cold." Clearly, the better actor who was seen here was Kanda, who got rid of the pinkish tint on the either side of his face.

Lavi blushed more, for an unknown apparent reason, and stuttered. "A-Ah, sorry, I'll wash.." His words trailed off when he suddenly felt Kanda's hands starting to move away from his head. He still desired the touch, even though there was a towel covering his pale palms.

It was too sudden, and he wasn't able to think. His body involuntarily moved. His bigger hands grabbed the thinner arms of the shorter man, whose arms were just starting to move. Not only his arms stiffened by the sudden touch, but his whole body did. Lavi's touch was too compelling that it reached on each of his nerve ends, as his skin registered its presence.

He constantly thought about the boy's ghastly and pallid skin. It seemed so deathlike, almost colorless. The heat of the shower water made it a little reddish, the same color of the taller man's face. His dark eyes were painted of stained midnight blue that were slanted, giving the man his natural oriental features. His eyes were being shadowed by his long eyelashes. To be short, he was so feminine, that he was almost.. _beautiful._The green eye of Lavi fell to his unattended part of his face, a part he didn't dare look at, and the one he had not yet examined.

His left hand moved this time. It raised upward, reaching for the other man's face. Dark azure eyes clouded with confusion stared at his captivated emerald eye, staring intently at him.

Sanity came rushing down back to his brain and the mesmerized red-headed teen quickly snapped his hands back. His eyes widened, making its orbs utterly round, when he realized what he was attempting to do. He stuttered, "I— I— you know what, I'm.. going to.. _holy fucking_— uhh.. later!" he grabbed his eye patch, forgetting to put on his shoes and instead wore slippers, immediately ran out of the room. Lavi, to keep himself sane and straight as a line, ran off somewhere as long as it is not Room 142.

Kanda blinked, staring at the void where the younger man stood seconds ago. "What the fuck is wrong with him?"

* * *

Lavi found himself outside again, under the harsh needles of the rain. The strands of red that Kanda dried earlier was once again drenched. He needed a quiet, _Yu-less _place to think. Think. The wind blew at him, but he was distracted to his thoughts that possibly his body turned numb for a moment.

He ran to the main street of the neighborhood, a wooded marshy area that is far away from Building C. He sat under a tall tree of pine, pushing away some pine cones. His legs were bent in front of him, his elbows touching the knees and arms hanging from it. He reclined his back against the rough damp surface of the huge tree, throwing back his head. He stayed on that position for few minutes, his troubled thoughts rampaging his mind. The sky flashed a white flare as a sound of thunder boomed throughout the heavens. Lavi looked up, droplets of water dropping to the surface of his face.

"Fuck.. what the.. _fuck_ was…that?!" He said between short huffs of air, and shouted the last words loudly enough to echo throughout the pine forestry. The rain's intensity did not have any changes at all. It was as heavy as the way he left it minutes ago.

"What was I thinking? Trying to.. trying to.. _shit_. I am such a sick _fuck_! Thinking of doing that— to _Yu_ out of all people!" His palms slapped his forehead, covering his eye patch and his left eye. His palm didn't move.

He was confused and angry. The last thing he wanted was to make a scar out of their friendship. After all this years, he didn't want that special ship to sink. His mind twirled dizzily, images of earlier replaying over and over again. There were emotions he couldn't recognize that were literally spinning round and round inside his head.

Sure, he knew Kanda better than anybody else. Sure, he was the only one Kanda willingly wanted to talk to — and Lenalee. Sure, they've known each other for as far as he can remember. But was it enough? The heart-pounding, the fluttering in the stomach, the frequent blushes—

Wait.

He didn't even want to think about it. For him, love was the weirdest, least most understood emotion imaginable. It's almost creepy. But if it _was_ love, it sure did feel good. But most importantly,

There was in no doubt that Yu Kanda is a man.

* * *

Lenalee, after she prepared a meal in the kitchen, walked with a wide tray of food, heading to the teacher's lounge. The hallways were darker, almost pitch-black, since the ceiling lights were unlit. She saw the red neon lights of the elevator's buttons and top screen, she went inside and pressed a button.

Her eyes cringed. The brightness of the elevator lights went in contrast with the hallway's dimness. She arrived at the floor, again went to the dim-lit halls. There was a light coming out from one room, the teacher's lounge.

She stopped a mere meter away from the open room by the time she heard the people inside talking.

"You mean Cross' apprentice?"

"Yea, he enrolled by himself. No Finder recommended him."

"What an over-confident kid."

"Tsk. Just because he's close with Cross."

Lenalee felt rage travel down on her, trying to stop herself from barging in and tell those people to shut the hell up. The hands that carried the tray shook a little, shaking the teapot and plates.

"Don't speak that way to Allen!" a voice boomed out. Her eyes widened when she heard her brother's voice. She waited, expecting the man to continue. "You should be envious of him! When he went here, he gave us a letter by Cross, recommending him to this school! So, technically, a Finder may not have accommodated him but one of the five Headmaster did."

"Just like those two brats?" the voice of a woman said, it was slow and sensual. "Bookman and Froi was the one who sent them here."

Komui replied, "Lavi and Kanda? Aren't they in your advisory class?"

"Unfortunately." Was the only reply Cloud said.

"I heard Lavi got the captain position again." Another voice said.

Lenalee smiled as she continue to eavesdrop.

"Anyway, Reever is in charge of Lena-bear's class! I could've been the adviser but they were all opposing me."

"Walker is also in the same class." She heard Reever's voice.

"How'd did Cross find that Walker kid anyway?"

"I was with Allen when Hevlaska was talking with him," Lenalee noticed the change of tone that Komui spoke with. A tone that was more serious.

"His parents died when he was still a child. A man adopted him. But, his stepfather died of a car accident, Allen's left arm was in need to be amputated and undergone replantation of an artificial arm. During the funeral of his stepfather, Mana, if I'm not mistaken, Cross was present. It so happened that Allen's stepfather was a good friend of Cross, he then took in Allen."

"Poor boy, he—"

A sound of glass breaking was heard, all heads turned to the open archway and saw the girl standing unmovingly speechless, and was unable to say anything. Her emotions were mixed; pity, sadness, and grief. Her thoughts revolved around the boy. Does he mean he was alone in this world?

"L-Lena-bear! Why are—"

"Is that true?"

She felt guilty, having no idea about the boy's saddening past. Earlier, she was bragging about her brother and how undeniably happy they were. What could Allen be feeling back at that time?

"Is that.. true?" She spoke again.

Komui stopped, opening his mouth to speak but closed again. "I'm sorry you heard our conversation." She still stood there, not saying anything. The girl looked down on her feet, gaining an idea, she ran off again. "Lenalee!" a shout was heard as it echoed through the hallways, getting fainter as she ran off farther.

* * *

Back at her quarters in the dormitory, she sat on her bed, looking at her pink razor phone that laid down in front of her on the bed. Her hands hugged her knees, her chin sitting on top of it. Brown orbs travelled towards the large-scaled glass windows, the raindrops tapping on the transparent surface.

Dark poignant eyes stared outside, looking through the limpid glass. The rain was heavier, probably the worst rainfall this month. The tall, dark green trees swayed by the direction of the wind, the wind making soft hums as it soared outside. She hated the rain, to be truthfully honest. She wished it would shine more in the place, it was too gloomy for her vivid mind-set.

It was quiet, so quiet that it was almost deafening. She hated silence as much as she detested rain. She wished something, or someone, could break the silence.

"LENALEEEE!!!"

Lenalee unexpectedly looked at her door that was being intruded by Lavi as he barged into Lenalee's room, still in his uniform, muddy, leaves mingled in his hair, shoeless and soaking wet. She hurriedly threw her legs off and sat at the edge of the bed.

The redhead yelled in utmost depression and wailed as the redhead wrapped his arms around the newly-showered girl sitting on the rim of her bed. The woman's eyes were as round as they can be. Her body stiffened for a while but relaxed after the boy finally let the poor lady go. Lavi sat on her carpeted floor, his head with the same level with her knees.

"Is something wrong, Lavi?" the girl asked, patting the boy's head. Like a mother calming her son down.

"Something.. wrong?" the man nervously chuckled like a lunatic, "There's.. nothing, well, something, _wrong_. More like there's.. uhh.. something _wrong_ with _me_." The man was stuttering which wasn't his character, at all.

"Something wrong with you?"

"I mean—No! I said it by mistake! Actually, there's a friend of mine, and.. well.. there's something wrong with him. I mean—her.. I mean.. _good fucking LORD_!" Lavi gave up and cursed loudly, making Lenalee hush him to keep quiet since the other girls might hear him. She assumed he sneaked inside.

"Who is this person, that you assumed has something wrong with him.. or her?" She spoke in the most cautious way possible, careful not to say anything that would trigger some shouts from Lavi.

"I-I—"

Lenalee sighed, guessing the boy needed to warm up first, literally and metaphorically. "Details later, Lavi. Dry yourself off first." she said as she grabbed a clean towel from a closet and started to rub Lavi's head, just like how Kanda did. Lavi took off his vest and white polo.

"If it's you, I don't feel anything! When he did this to me, I felt like my heart would explode!"

"Who exactly is.. _he_?" Lenalee's ears perked up, deciding to look in more into the situation.

"I— _oh shit._"

"Lavi, tell me, who is this _he_ you're talking about?" she was interested now, her inner woman intuitions kicking in. "You can tell mommy anything." She hoped the constructive approach worked. It was an old approach Lenalee used back then, back when they were still children. Lavi would sometimes cry and Lenalee would the one who would calm him down. As of now, the grown boy acted like a whiny 5-year-old. She placed her hands on top of his damp head, stroking his hair every now and then.

Lavi deeply exhaled, he parted his lips to speak, "Y-Y-Y-Yu." He said the words sternly, trying to push away his uneasiness and his growing embarrassment.

Lenalee gasped and the hand that was drying Lavi's flame strands clamped her on her mouth. Lenalee's already big eyes got bigger, and rounder. Her pupils dilated when she absorbed in the information.

"Maybe.. maybe.." she had no idea what to say. Seriously. "Maybe, you just, really admire him? Right?"

"But I unconsciously wanted to k-k-k-k-k-_kiss_ him!" he wailed like a kid who lost in his soccer game. Lenalee let out a louder gasp, there were too much surprises today. Her heart wouldn't handle it. But the world cannot deny that she was a girl. A very curious girl.

"Well.. did you?"

"Christ, no!"

"O—kay. Maybe you just really, really, really, _really_ admire him!" she encouraged, well at least tried to, emphasizing the last mention of the word _really._She tried to be as nice as possible.

"Are you kidding me?!"

She thought, since her attempts were failing miserably, she decided to let it go. "Oh, _please_, Lavi. Wanting to kiss a guy doesn't make you a homosexual. I went to a bar mitzvah once, that doesn't make me a Jew."

"Lenalee, you are entirely straying off the point here."

She decided to change the topic. "So! I heard you were the captain of the basketball team again! That's wonderful!"

"Don't change the subject." Lavi narrowed his eyes, his lips curving downward, forming a deep scowl.

"Er.." Lenalee looked at another direction, sighing at her failed attempt. She wasn't good at these kinds of circumstances, but she had never seen her friend all depressed like that before. It must be hard.

"What should I do?"

"Lavi, honey, does Kanda feel the same about you?" She smiled compassionately at him with that trademark smile she had always used. One that wasn't fake nor forced. He looked up at her, a baffled, pouty expression was plastered on his face. She patted the man's head, willing to help her friend out, who has been like a brother figure to her all these years. Even though his problem was a little strange.

"It's Yu. Kanda Yu. I am 100 percent sure he's straight."

Goodbye, self-esteem.

"But I'm sure you're straight, too, Lavi!"

"Yeah, straight as a _goddamn cucumber_!"

"Oh, Sweet Mother of God." All her hope was gone by the time Lenalee slapped her palms on her face. She should might as well accept Lavi's sexual preference. It would also seem fun getting the two together.

* * *

****

**A/N: The faggotry begins here.**

**I OWN NOTHING.**

**Reviews are entirely welcome. Tell me if there's something wrong, or if you have any ideas. I know there'd be a lot of grammar corrections, writing during dawn is a pain but I just want to get this plot out of my head.**

**Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this story, if anyone reads them though. I have too little self-esteem T3T**

_**Thanks ritachi**__**=)**_

**EDIT: A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE CHAPTER  
**


	4. Indulgence

•

**Let the Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

•

* * *

**•**

**4. Indulgence**

**•**

* * *

It was hardly the beginning of twilight and Lavi recognized the dim presence of the weak sunlight as the sun was still below the horizon. He didn't know what the time was, but he guessed that it was probably four or five in the morning. The heavy rain last night changed into a soft drizzle by the time the clock turned at midnight, and as more hours passed, the downpour stopped.

The redhead witnessed it all. He couldn't sleep, more likely, he didn't want to sleep. Last night, he left at Lenalee's room at a late hour and when he came back to his own room, in the stealthiest most silent way possible, he found his friend already asleep at his own bunk bed. Lavi was relieved, thinking he might've done something embarrassing if he would still be awake. He could picture himself stuttering and totally freaking out in front of the older boy.

It took him at least ten more minutes to notice that the sky was starting to light up, marking the end of dawn. The main reason he didn't want to sleep was because he was unprepared to have an encounter with Kanda. He despised his current situation, if it weren't for his newfound feelings for him, he could talk to the man casually, without the blushing and the awkwardness. His task was to leave the room before Kanda would wake up, he didn't want to talk to the man at his current state.

He shifted his weight as lightly as he could, trying not to make the bed creak since he was on the upper bunk. The redhead sat up from his lying position carefully, trying not to make slightest sound that could easily wake the boy beneath. He placed his feet on one step of the smooth wooden ladder, then another, until he was finally on the ground. His eye snapped quickly to the sleeping man and let out a sigh of relief when he found the boy sleeping soundly.

'_Gah, I feel like a ninja,'_He mentally laughed at his own thoughts as he stepped on the hardwood softly, his feet slowly heading for the bathroom. Trying to avoid hitting the kotatsu in the middle of the room, he cringed when his feet made a squeak on the hardwood pavement, his head snapped back to the man. He sighed again, finding the man still in dreamland. When he made it to the bathroom, he cautiously closed the door, not wanting to make any further noise. He hoped the closed door would muffle the sounds coming out of the bathroom.

Kanda's eyes twitched at the sound of the shower turning on and the soft whistling of water falling down in contact with ceramic tiles. His eyes opened slowly and he was surprised to see the grayish blue sky, no sun in sight. He figured Lavi was in the shower, but he never thought he would be at a time like this. He looked at his watch which he forgot to take off last night. He rubbed his eyes as his vision was still blurry. When his eyesight cleared up, sleepy dark eyes snapped open when he found out it was only five o'clock.

The dark-haired man was surprised at his friend's waking hour. He expected the redhead to still be sleeping, since the younger man usually woke up ten minutes before class would start. When his weight shifted to change into a sitting position, he instinctively went back to his sleeping position and faked sleeping as soon as he heard the bathroom door open. He didn't know why though. For some reason, he didn't want to talk to the other man at the moment. Their feelings were mutual and they weren't aware of it.

Kanda heard a soft rustling of clothes and he figured that Lavi was preparing his school uniform. He then heard the sound of the fabric of a towel against the boy's messy red hair. Next, he heard a belt being buckled, a shirt being worn, he presumed, and a necktie being fastened. He had no idea why, but just the mere thought it made his ears burn up. They were just guesses but he was surprisingly accurate. He opened his eyes once again when he heard the door close, meaning Lavi got out by now.

"He's early." He muttered to himself, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. He felt a slight pang in his chest. They hadn't had a decent conversation since yesterday.

He left the room early yesterday, leaving Lavi behind. Classes started before he could talk to him. When it was lunch time, Lavi was excused by the coach so he only ate together with Lenalee. After the classes were over, he met a white-haired boy who had mistaken him for a woman, still no Lavi in sight. When he got inside his room, Lavi was still in school having a basketball meeting. When Lavi arrived, he ran off a minute later.

He had this painful feeling that Lavi was avoiding him.

He grunted. So what if Lavi _was_ avoiding him? He didn't care at all. What bothered him was, _why_was he being avoided_?_He stood up, heading towards the bathroom. Stepping on the wooden floor, he felt something wet on his feet.

"Che. That stupid little—" He cursed, noticing the wet footprints Lavi left behind. Ignoring it for a while, he went inside the bathroom to get ready.

And maybe he should cook something too.

* * *

In a breezy meadow clearing just behind the school building, the junction between the campus and the road to the dorms, a redhead stood, feeling the long grass brush against his shoes and the edge of his slacks. He looked up to the still blue sky, yet no sun brightened it. It was probably his first time to come to school this early. When he felt a soft chilly breeze pass through, he stared at the grass, still painted with dew. He then found a relaxing opportunity to lie down on it. Pulling his headphones carelessly from his bag, not minding at all that the wires were all tangled together, he switched on his desired music and laid back against the soft, slightly damp pasture.

The bell wouldn't ring until seven, so he thought he might as well get some sleep and try to get rid of his decadent thoughts. Not thinking too much about things, sleep soon overcame him.

By the time Kanda arrived at his classroom, probably fifteen minutes before the bell would ring. He didn't find Lavi. Subconsciously, he was angry, thinking the boy was cutting his goddamn classes again, similar to their sophomore year. Last year, Kanda couldn't count by his mere fingers the amount of absences Lavi had. It made a terrible impact on his record, and not to mention, unnecessary summer classes. During those summer classes, instead of having Lavi around, he was there in school, making up for his skipped classes.

And Kanda Yu didn't want that.

He turned his back from the open doorway of his classroom . He heard some random person yell whom he probably did not know and did not intend to, "Kanda! Where ya going? It's almost time!" He ignored it though, and went on his way to find his, currently, sleeping friend. Of course he didn't know that.

He had no idea why he would sacrifice staining his truly _clean_ records for one mark of _'tardy'_for a stupid guy like him, he thought. He noted to himself to give the redhead a good beating for making him go look for the younger man.

He just wanted to have a normal conversation with him again.

(It sounded awkward, so he rephrased it.)

He just didn't want Lavi's record to be marked terribly this time, it was their senior year after all. That's it.

He checked the library first, then the cafeteria, and then the rooftop but to no avail. Hearing the school bell ring, he ignored the ear-splitting noise the bell made throughout the halls and continued to look outside. When he got out of the campus, the sun greeted him. He despised the sun, it was too bright for its own good.

Walking through the grass, he passed by the trees that were in full bloom. It swayed against the breeze, some leaves mingled with it. It was a beautiful view and he couldn't help but smell the aroma the spring flowers and trees were giving off. Further into the large nature-filled clearing, he noticed something red on the grass. He walked towards it, and his black eyes found the redhead he was looking for, lying on the ground.

With his heart full of hope that it was indeed his lazy slacker of a friend, he ran to the direction of where he had seen him. He was relieved when his eyes found that really annoying bright red hair.

Kanda resisted the urge to hit the guy once he got close. But seeing him fast asleep so soundly made that certain urge to vanish. He leaned down, his hands on his knees, his face in level with Lavi's. They weren't close, probably a meter away, but it was enough to block Lavi's view of the sunlight. His black tresses almost touching the sleeping boy's cheeks, he observed his face, from his view, it was upside down, it seemed so peaceful that he wished the boy would just constantly wake up by himself by the change of light since Kanda was shadowing over his face. But instead he muttered his name in a slightly annoyed tone.

"_Baka-usagi_." The boy didn't even budge, he spoke louder, "Hey dumbass, wake the fuck up."

Still nothing.

"Lavi!"

The voice that echoed through his ears, through his headphones (The tracks finished so the music stopped, it wasn't put on repeat) made his uncovered green eye snap open, by reflex, he sat up in a very abrupt jolt. Suddenly hitting something hard against his forehead earning a feeling of pain on his temples, he noticed a black-haired boy sitting on the grass, his hands were on his forehead also. Looking at the situation, he took it in and gasped and finally became aware that he had hit Kanda's forehead with his when he sat up.

"Y-Yu! I'm sorry!" he threw his hands in front of him, hoping the other boy wouldn't hurt him. He slid down the headphones so it could hang on his neck, together with the green bandana. "Sorry!"

"God_damn_it!" Kanda cursed loudly, groaning. His eyes were shut closed, palms nursing his red throbbing brow. He heard Lavi apologize again, which made him a less bit annoyed.

"Che. Say sorry again, I'll cut your head off." Still rubbing hit temples, he noticed the other boy approaching him, walking on his knees against the grass to see if he was okay. It was no use getting mad at him so he just shrugged it off. But shrugging off the pain wasn't going to be easy. Lavi made a childish pouty expression, making the older man jab him on the cheek playfully. The redhead chuckled.

Lavi was still a little awkward in talking to him, especially when last night's memories kept coming back to haunt him. He just had to act normal, and to be normal, he had to come up with a witty comeback, "You can't cut my head off with a bamboo sword." Lavi pointed at the covered sword that hung from Kanda's back. Kanda narrowed his eyes.

"This is Mugen."

"Damn. Isn't it against school rules to bring that thing?"

"It's not for me." The taller boy just chuckled softly. He knew Tiedoll was the one who allowed him to bring a real weapon inside campus. He sighed, thinking about how their art teacher had spoiled his students too much.

Again, wanting to act normally. "What time is it, Yu?" Somehow, his problems talking to the guy vanished. He wished it would last though. Kanda nonchalantly looked at his watch.

"7:28."

"Oh."

"..."

"OH! Holy—I slept that long?!" the redhead exclaimed.

Kanda furrowed his brows, "If you didn't woke up that early.."

"You were awake?" Hearing him trailing off, he absentmindedly ran his fingers through his flame-red locks.

"Kinda."

Lavi only smiled at him. He was happy he didn't stutter or blush or whatever. Just having small talks like this made him satisfied. He chuckled mentally, being friends with him is just enough. Being more than friends than him, he wouldn't know the outcome, but he decided not to take the risk.

Unknowingly, his heart pained_._

He felt something heavy mending in his heart. He plastered on a partially bitter smile, remembering their childhood days. At that time, a seven-year-old Kanda followed him wherever place he would go since the grownups scared Kanda back then. Kanda's first days in the school were like hell for him, having no knowledge of the English language whatsoever and not understanding what the adults were telling him. Lavi knew how to speak basic Japanese back then, and young Lenalee would talk to him in the most basic and easy English way she could.

For some strange reason, Lavi wasn't able to get rid of the growing bitterness in his chest. He assured himself, that he wouldn't imperil their friendship, and that he was already satisfied of their current bond. Friends. Just _friends_.

With his thoughts put aside at the back of his head, he asked, "Aren't we going back to class? I mean, we could still make it as latecomers,"

"Y-You weren't planning on cutting classes?"

"No, I just overslept."

"Fuck you."

The bigger man only laughed at loud and decided to tease the man a bit, "Dear me, Kanda Yu-chama, were you that concerned about me?" the boy cackled, using a Japanese honorific for his name. Kanda did nothing but to glare at him, "Sorry, I was just trying to imagine that you have emotions." The other boy's glare went deeper, wishing the redhead would cut off his sardonic sarcasm. "So then, since we're already here and we're late for class. We might as well skip it, right?"

"No, I'm going back." Kanda stood up, grabbing his bag along with him.

"Oh come on!"

"No."

Lavi put on the most devious voice he could manage before he spoke, "I heard English is our first subject today." The standing boy glared at the boy who sat on the ground. Lavi knew the fact that Kanda Yu did not like the English language.

"Che." With annoyance, he grunted at having to be gulled by the boy next to him. He did _not_ just sacrifice a 'late' mark on his record for him to slack off even more. Now, that late mark would be an absent mark. Brilliant. But spending more time with him? He reconsidered. Maybe just this one time, he would cut a few hours.

"That means yes, right?" Lavi grinned happily. Just the mere presence of Kanda made him feel content.

Kanda didn't say anything more. He's not a person for skipping classes, especially now that it was their last year. Hearing the redhead's joyful laughter, he smirked in a very unobtrusive way. Watching the other boy smile, he thought about it.

He despised Lavi. He was too bright for his own good.

* * *

A few hours came and passed and the two boys were still sitting side by side, on the same exact spot of the vast meadows of the Black Order University. Their time together seemed so short, just talking and laughing at certain topics and opinions. Lavi's face exuded brightness as Kanda plastered on soft, small smiles from time to time.

Inside those hours, they had talked about anything that can be talked about under the sun. Food, history, literature, games and just.. stuff. When there was nothing to talk about, Lavi would force him to play childish games the used to play when they were still young. Kanda was forced, he had no choice since, clearly, he just skipped class for the first time in his high school life. And he didn't want to die of boredom while doing so.

"..I told you, we should live together on some kind of flat or apartment or something, we _are_going to the same college, right?"

"Idiot, I _told_ _you_that I'm not sure I can pass in the North American Branch. My grades are not that high."

"Stop being so pessimistic! I'm sure you can get in!"

"Why do you bother anyway?"

"I still want to be with Yu after high school!" Lavi looked above him, facing the sky. "By the time we graduate, I'm going to have a license, which means I can get a new car. We can go joyriding after school!"

"That's _it_?"

"On Mondays, we go to Vegas. Tuesdays, we can drop by in New York. Oh, we should definitely try San Francisco."

"You can't be serious."

"Sadly, I think I really am."

"Che. I'm not trying out for the North American Branch. The entrance exam's hell."

"Then where are you planning to go then?"

"Asian Branch, the entrance is pretty easy."

"Isn't that place prone to flood? I heard that students got stuck inside the campus during a storm!"

"I don't care."

"Then, I'm going there too!"

"Just fuck you, Lavi, fuck _you_."

Kanda assumed the redhead was honestly serious. He sensed high impulsiveness in the man's voice, planning of ridiculous things, not thinking of the consequences. He knew if Lavi ever did get a new car, it would sadly result to hyperactivity. Planning on going in every state of the United States? Kanda reconsidered the fact that Lavi was smarter than him. He had no idea how he got a perfect score on his every test, probably the inhumane memory, but when it comes to real life, the redhead was a complete idiot. He would easily get distracted, craved for attention, and would act before thinking. Kanda thought more deeply into his observations. Weren't those signs of ADHD?

In the midst of their, more on Lavi's, ongoing conversation about entering college and anything related to the subject, Kanda looked up. The sky radiated a golden color, no rain clouds present which was absolutely rare. He assumed that it was almost noon, judging from the golden hues of the heavens. A breeze swayed, passing by them, making Kanda's loose black un-ponytailed tresses going alongside the direction of the cool gust of the wind. His eyes gazed vaguely at the golden clouds, his thoughts were lost in space, Lavi noticed he wasn't listening.

Lavi hated it when no one listened to him.

Kanda's eyes widened and the expression of confusion fell on his face when he felt Lavi placed half of his excessively large headphones on his head. He immediately heard music coming out. One earcup on Kanda's right ear then another earcup on Lavi's left ear. He felt slight pity for the poor headphones which was being stretched to its fullest. He turned his head to the side to give Lavi a glare but he suddenly reconsidered when he just noticed their cheeks were touching, being pushed together by the force of the headphones. But _Gods,_they were too damn close.

"What the hell—" He tried to pry off the headphones, but the other boy stopped him from doing so.

"You're not listening to me." The red-headed man pouted at him, earning another glare from Kanda, the redhead then afterwards laughed softly.

"Che. You talk too much." Thank heavens they were both blushing, neither of them was aware the other one's face was heating up.

"I downloaded a few albums a few days ago. Do you know this band?" Lavi asked, suddenly jumping to another topic.

"I don't like music." Kanda paused for awhile. "And I don't illegally download music either."

"But it's much cheaper than actually buying the real deal."

"Downloading takes too much time."

"Not really, I use P2P. Depends on the number of seeds and stuff."

* * *

As the minutes go by, their conversation switched topics every now and then. Hearing the music being forced into his ears, Kanda wondered what the genre of the song was. He wasn't educated with things like music or genres or what, but he was confused when he heard carnival-like theme music with a classic rock mix. He had no idea what the thing was.

For the rest of time their heads were smashed against each other, their conversation pretty much revolved around various kinds of music. During that conversation, Kanda learned that Lavi hated Hip Hop and Rap. During that conversation, Lavi learned Kanda never liked any music.

The music wasn't loud enough to muffle the noise of their surroundings as they heard the school bell ring to its heart's content, signaling lunch time. Much to Lavi's despair, Kanda pulled off the headphones off his head, stretching it before intentionally making it smack against the side of Junior's head. The redhead exclaimed a pained cry before rubbing his impacted ear.

"What's the matter?" Lavi asked, questioning why he took the headphones off.

"This place would be soon crowded with people." He didn't want anyone to see them in that position. Actually, he just didn't like busy places.

Lavi didn't like the idea that lingered inside his mind, he didn't voice out the fact that he knew Kanda hated crowded places, but he said it anyway. "Why don't you go, Yu? I'll stay here. I don't feel hungry anyways." With his words, the smaller man stood up, walked behind Lavi's sitting figure and punched him on top of his head.

"Stop being an idiot. You haven't ate anything since last night." Kanda, feeling _terribly_ out of character, said with much anger yet concern in his voice. His face flushed involuntarily.

Lavi smiled contentedly, hinting the boy's disquiet. His green emerald eye widened in surprise when the long-haired senior sat back down again next to him, shuffling inside his bag to get something. Before the redhead knew it, a black average-sized bento box was sitting quietly between them. Kanda didn't say anything, not wanting to talk anymore.

He talked too damn much today.

The crimson-haired boy just stared at it, having no idea whatsoever what Kanda expected him to do with the ceramic black box. Noticing just how stupid Lavi was, Kanda pressed his palm against his face. He didn't want to talk anymore, seriously.

And unfortunately, the idiot in front of him just made him open his mouth to speak again.

"What are you waiting for? A fucking invitation?" Kanda asked scornfully, annoyance and sarcasm obviously marked in his tone. Lavi finally lighted up the broken light bulb above his head and opened the lunch box, revealing a large amount of breaded deep-fried pork that were sliced into bite-sized portions, covering the boxful of rice beneath.

"Yu! I'm amazed, you can actually cook something besides shrimp and noodles!" the redhead teased, earning him a semi-playful jab on his shoulder.

"Just eat, damn it."

Lavi said a thankful comment, making Kanda turn his to the side to hide his face. Not bothering to use the chopsticks, the redhead grabbed the sliced tonkatsu by hand and helped himself. He paused when he noticed Kanda wasn't eating.

"Aren't ya gonna eat, Yu? You made a lot, it's for two people if you ask me."

"I just cooked too many." Crossing his arms, he glared at the other boy.

Lavi sensed the boy was lying. Kanda hated meat and only ate what he liked best, tempura and soba. Nothing more. He knew that certain attitude of his best friend, ever since they were children. He never really liked being thanked for, as if he was uncomfortable to help someone out.

Minutes later, students started to gather around the now starting-to-get-crowded clearing. Some of them stayed under the blossoming trees, Kanda and Lavi were at the slightly centered area. Kanda looked around to find some of the seniors making themselves comfortable on the field.

"Hey, Yu." He looked at Lavi, who handheld a slice of tonkatsu, offering it to him. Kanda, before glaring at Lavi, stared at the piece of meat that was mere centimeters away from his face. Suddenly hearing a few faint giggles and noticing stares by girls, he shoved the redhead's hand towards the opposite direction, making the redhead eat his own offering. Choking slightly, Lavi finally swallowed the breaded meat. Crossing his arms, Kanda turned his head to the side as a light blush crept to his cheeks.

"You know, you _really_need to eat something meaty. You eat soba for your breakfast, lunch and dinner! No wonder you're getting skinnier." Lavi stopped talking when dark orbs glared angrily at him.

"Che." Was all Kanda could say. He wasn't exactly fond of meat, he couldn't say he was a vegetarian too. He liked pumpkins though, and green pepper.

From an outsider's view, he was definitely close to a vegetarian.

"Seriously, you're going to die of malnutrition."

Kanda tried to endure it and ignored the boy.

"You're not getting enough protein too."

Still ignoring.

"No wonder your shorter than me! Even though you're older."

Kanda's eyes widened before narrowing it down, an annoyed expression written over his face.

"I'm only older by two months, what difference does it fucking make?" He cursed mentally. Damn that boy, making him talk more than usual.

"And I'm 10 kilograms heavier than you too."

Kanda didn't even know his own weight, how come this man knew it? He opened his mouth to ask, but closed again when he remembered Lavi's insanely high memory. His thoughts were snapped suddenly when the boy offered him another slice of that wretched breaded pork. Why the hell did he cook it in the first place? Oh right, Lavi.

"Eat." Lavi said in a demanding tone which Kanda hated.

Lavi was surprised when Kanda actually did what he commanded. He didn't actually expected the man to eat the offered meat, especially when it was offered by his unsanitized hand. A blush found its way to Lavi's cheeks.

Kanda noticed the dumbfounded expression on the redhead's face, and asked in an annoyed tone,

"_What_?"

Lavi tried to stop his grin, but ended up laughing still.

As time passed by so quickly, they found out lunch was over, and the two of them decided to stay there until the end of the day and skip more classes.

In the end, they ended up not having to go to school at all.

In the end, they were called by their class adviser to the office and got themselves turned into slaves by the mentioned woman. Stapling, copying documents to the Xerox machine and the like.

* * *

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**A/N: When Kanda said "carnival-like theme music with a classic rock mix" they were actually listening to Panic! At The Disco. but that's just me.**

**I just fucking bought their album. I liked their 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' more, but there are definitely good ones on 'Pretty Odd' like 'When The Day Met The Night' and—**

**I'll stop ranting now~**

**ANYWAYS,**

**Questions and problems. Feel free to tell 'em. Thanks to anyone who reads this. Haha. This chapter was just for fluff, very mild friendly fluff.**

**I don't own DGM**


	5. Gutturotetany

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**5. Gutturotetany**

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* * *

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It was already several years since he stayed at this school yet the wide spacious room still seemed to be so big for him. Their seats were changed due to the class president's ridiculous assignation of seats. Lavi cursed the innocent class president. Thanks to that guy, he wouldn't be able to concentrate at class anymore, though he didn't from the start. Kanda Yu was assigned to the seat right next to him. They were at the farthest row at the back, quite convenient to sleep through class he thought.

In fact, that was what he did since morning. From time to time, his head would turn to his right to catch a glimpse of the man beside him. It was a relief that Kanda didn't notice his frequent stares, and in order to get rid of the risk of being caught, he would sleep. He hadn't had a good night sleep recently. And he was too lovesick that he blamed Kanda.

His face was buried in his crossed arms, for some strange reason, he felt like glancing to his right yet again, only to find out that his green orbs clashed with the other boy's dark eyes. Lavi quickly averted his eyes elsewhere. On the other hand, Kanda looked away the same time Lavi did, scowling at the sudden feeling he just felt and silently cursed himself for being stupid enough to look at the boy at his left long enough to be caught.

Lavi cringed slightly when the bell rang and echoed through the halls and the classrooms. The teacher bid his goodbye and so did the students as they, almost consecutively, stood up to prepare for their lunch hour. Lavi turned to look at Kanda's seat. Kanda just stood up and headed outside, not bothering to wait for the redhead. He remembered something about Tiedoll and about their punishment for skipping class on their second day of their first trimester. Bookman called for the redhead too, but Lavi was torn between two possibilities; one is that he'll get scolded. Two, run away. He'd most likely go with option two though. In short, they were getting punished for what they had done a few days ago. It's been a week already; they should just let them get away with it. They were seniors after all. A good record is in need to get in college. Maybe he could talk to Bookman about it.

Absentmindedly walking through the halls, heading towards the cafeteria, his mind practically revolved around Kanda Yu. He was considerably guilty for putting his friend on trouble, and for staining his once clean school record but the thought of their time together yesterday eased his remorse to some extent.

Though he slept through English and snoozed halfway Physics, his thoughts still lingered on the subject called _Kanda_. He strictly said to himself that he would get rid of his feelings for the boy next to him. He could tell him how he felt but he should be prepared for the consequences. He might be totally straight and wouldn't even try experimenting with him.

"_I should just move on and find someone more available. He's not the only person in the world."_He thought, putting his hands inside his pockets. That thought itself made him a little chilly.

As his tracks stopped in front of the large doorway of the food court, he looked for the table where Lenalee always seated herself at. Through the building crowd, he pushed his way through the crowd to what he thought was their table.

Lenalee's lunch box was on top of one long tabletop, he couldn't mistake it for anyone else's. The pink creepy-looking, tongue-sticking rabbit design on the container proved that its owner was his one and only female best friend. What confused Lavi was; instead of a pigtailed girl, there was a white-haired boy sitting in front of Lenalee's lunch box, eating something that looked like dango. Next to Lenalee's lunch bow was a tower of plates. Did the boy ate all of those? Eyeing the white-haired boy again, he noticed a bandaged left hand. It looked like it was bandaged up from the shoulders, the sleeves of the uniform covering it. He also had a weird tattoo on his face. Lavi approached the table and seated himself across the evidently younger boy.

The silver-haired blinked confusedly as he watched the man with an eyepatch sat himself across him. Before opening his mouth to speak, Lavi smiled at him, "You must be Lenalee's friend, I'm Lavi! You?"

Allen thought, so this was the senior Lenalee was talking about. Out of his faintest memory, the only thing he could bear in mind about this man in front of him was something in the lines of eyepatch, food, easily distracted, idiot and high I.Q. He was at least curious how this person could be an idiot and smart at the same time.

His thoughts aside, he replied, "I'm Allen." He smiled back.

"Oh, you're the new kid. Your section is.. 1-A?" Lavi said, remembering the list of students from the first day of school.

"Ah, yes."

Lavi bombarded him with questions, and he felt like a suspect being interrogated for a crime. He remembered Lenalee telling him he talked a lot, but he didn't expect this much. He even asked about his bandaged arm. Common courtesy was not installed in his brain, unfortunately.

"How old are you?"

"15."

"Oh, I'm older, 18!"

Obviously. Allen's eye twitched. Where _are_ you Lenalee?

"Because of that white hair, I would have suspected you as an old man. Though it's convenient for hiding dandruff."

"Huh.."

There was a pause.

"Can I call you bean sprout?"

Allen wished he heard it correctly, mentally clearing his ears, he asked, "Pardon?"

"I asked if I can call you bean sprout."

"_Eh_?!" the boy practically choked on his own spit. Allen heard it correctly, unfortunately. He tried to convince himself that this man was naturally too, how could he say this correctly, _annoying._ In a way, but you still wouldn't hate him. He emitted a happy aura that disables you to directly hate him.

"Why..!?"

"But Yu calls you that!" Lavi said loudly, pouting childishly afterwards. He loved mentioning his name. He felt oddly special calling him by his first name and still breathing.

The redhead caught the confused look on the boy's face while he asked, "Yu?"

"Didn't you know? It's Kanda's given name. Lenalee must have talked about him, right?"

"Oh." He knew that name from somewhere. His eyes were flooded with fear as soon as he remembered. This guy and Kanda were actually friends? His mind kept him from believing it. "_Moyashi_ means bean sprout?" he saw the redhead nod. He narrowed his eyes. The fear and unbelief in his silver eyes were soon replaced with big eyes when he saw a figure approaching behind Lavi.

"I see you have met Lavi." A voice of a woman interrupted. Lavi turned around, shifting on his seat. He looked up at Lenalee who was behind him.

With a smile on his face, he greeted. "Lenalee!" Allen greeted her after.

"Allen, my brother is calling for you." The girl informed, seating herself beside Allen, thanking him for watching over her lunch box while she was gone.

"Why?" the boy asked, standing up.

"Something about an orientation and stuff. Do you know where his office is? Want me to come with you?" Lenalee offered. Allen threw his hands in front of him, a grateful expression on his face.

"Thanks, but I think I can manage." Sliding off the long seat, he bid a goodbye to the two people left on the table and soon left off. His figure soon disappearing through the crowded cafeteria.

Once gone, Lenalee grabbed her lunch box and opened it, revealing a partially attractive spaghetti pasta. She didn't know if she should be happy or not. It was no doubt that his brother did this. She was lost in her thoughts, playing with her food with the use of her fork. Her right elbow was on top of the table, her right palm against her chin while her left hand twirled around the strands of spaghetti pasta. Lenalee ignored Lavi, as if waiting for him to start the conversation.

"Lenalee.._"_ Lavi whined, covering his face with his big hands. The girl just smiled at him lightly.

"Is this about Kanda again?" the girl teased, her head tilting to the side, her eyes closed and a fake innocent smile was written on her face. Her smile widened even more when the boy across her made an embarrassed, uneasy expression on his face. She noticed that a mere mention of his newfound love would make him embarrassed and stutter like a love sick puppy dog. She took advantage of her observation. And used it greatly.

She scanned the place, no Kanda in sight. She guessed that he had been called by Tiedoll, or went to the covered gym or something. Her inner self sneered, thinking she could tease the boy to her heart's content.

"So.." she started, "How's the gay life going?"

"Please." Lavi glared at her while Lenalee only giggled, suddenly, she had brought back the urge to eat the poor muddled spaghetti. She sighed with content, afterwards popping a twirled pasta in her mouth. Lavi only eyed her, observing her every move.

After she swallowed, she said, "Want me to confront Kanda?"

"Hell no." he replied quickly.

"I'll come with an approach like, what does he like in his lover, or what are his interests on girls."

"Isn't that making things worse? As far as I remember, I'm a guy, he's a guy. It wouldn't work out." The girl frowned and narrowed her eyes as she saw the boy put up a hopeless expression. "Besides, if he was to find out I have feelings for him, he would avoid me. And I don't want that,"

The girl was furious, thinking about the redhead's pessimism. Truthfully, she was annoyed how out of character Lavi was today. He needed a lot of encouragement and she was here for that reason exactly. "But! What if he likes you too!?" Lenalee shouted and banged the table with her balled fist. Lavi's eyes widened and warned the girl to tone it down. They earned a few stares and head turns but it was surely a good thing they were at the far corner of the wide cafeteria. The girl apologized softly.

"Look, he only likes me as a _friend_. Heck, I don't even know if he likes me in general."

"Stop discouraging yourself! He hasn't been in any relationship, you—"

"He hasn't been in any relationship because he isn't interested in relationships. What makes you think I can change that? and I just told you, he's a _man!_"

"Gender doesn't matter when it comes to _love_."

"Isn't it '_Age doesn't matter'_or something?"

"No.." She paused. "Well, yeah, but—"

"What makes ya think it's love? It's probably just infatuation, or a severe case of identity crisis, or Acute Gay Syndrome or whatever."

"Based on your frustrating whining for the past few days, I'm pretty sure it isn't admiration, nor infatuation and what the hell is Acute Gay Syndrome?" She paused for a while, the redhead shrugged at her question. "You've been together for almost twelve years. You know one another the best."

Lavi redirected his green eye. Though, what the lady said was true, he was thinking of a reply to her remark, "Knowing each other the best isn't enough. I accept liking him and all, but I'm pretty positive he won't return the feelings."

Lenalee rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy frustrated sigh. The man was unusually negative today. "Fine, be that way. I'll still confront him though." With those words coming out from her mouth, she stood up from her seat.

"Are you crazy, woman?! He'll know I—"

"I'm not as dense as _you_. I'll just say a girl from my class likes him."

"Lenalee, stop. Sit, Lenalee! Sit!" the boy mocked, earning him a painful kick in his shins.

"Not listening." She sang, slipping out of the long bench and began walking, skipping along the way. Lavi did nothing but watched her retreating back.

"Hah! You don't even know where he is!" Lavi shouted with a proud voice, standing up from his seat. His voice boomed out, earning him a few stares from the people surrounding the area. The girl was still on her way, not stopping any time soon.

"What are you talking about?" Lenalee turned back towards him with her one eyebrow high up and a sly smirk, she said. "Look there." she pointed her finger at the direction of the entrance, where the subject of their little conversation stood.

Lavi's head turned to where she was pointing. His green pupil went perfectly round, his face reddening automatically. He saw the girl running up to Kanda, he tried to chase after her but a crowd blocked the way.

Lenalee grinned triumphantly as she walked towards to where Kanda was sitting.

"Kanda!" she greeted, a wide smile on her face. She sat herself down across him, the boy looked at her with no clear emotion on his face. "Sorry I didn't bring food yesterday."

"It's alright," he replied, his tone monotonous. He then took a bite from his lunch.

"Uhh.." Lenalee hadn't thought how to start the interrogation without it being obvious, Kanda crooked an eyebrow, "What do you like in a lover?"

Well, so much for unobvious.

The boy in front of her literally choked on his soba. The suddenness was a little too great but managed to regain his composure. "Che. I'm not interested."

"You mean, you don't like to have a _girl_friend_?_" She asked, emphasizing a word. Her hands were now crossed, her chin resting on them, trying to act all professional and stuff.

"I don't do relationships."

"But hypothetically speaking, if you'd ever have one. Do you have any specific requirements?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Kanda raised an eyebrow, a slightly confused, somewhat annoyed, expression written on his face.

"Just answer."

"Che."

"Don't _che_me."

"I don't care."

"Please?"

"..."

"I won't bring you food for a week."

"Fine."

"Kanda." Her tone was almost a warning.

"If I answer, stop asking me stupid questions."

"Deal!"

"I.." She waited for him to continue. "I-I-I want s-someone who.. knows me well, knows.. what I like and dislike. W-Who I've been together with for a long time." He cursed himself for stammering. His thoughts, for some reason, reverted to Lavi. He seriously thought he was sick. His breathing came in short breaths, his heart started racing and he felt like his throat had a spasm. Those symptoms seemed to happen whenever he's with Lavi. Kanda went far enough to think he needed psychotherapy. His thoughts snapped when he noticed Lenalee smirking that weird smile she does whenever she had discovered something that satisfies her.

"Okay." She said as she mentally recorded his words in a notepad inside her head. She smirked again. "What does your lover have to look like?"

"Uhh.. I d-don't know." he stuttered again. He was completely out of his character and Lenalee seemed to gain pleasure from it.

"Tall, dark and handsome?" she teased.

"_Fuck no._" he answered sternly, the girl in front of him giggled. His voice barely a whisper, he added, "Someone who's tall.."

"What?" She titled her head, not quite hearing his last words.

"I mean.. can you leave me alone now? I answered your dumb questions."

"Last one. Promise!"

"What." His tone lacked a question mark, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Do you mind if it's a man or a woman?"

Choke.

"The hell?"

* * *

Lavi cursed under his breath when he saw Lenalee already talking to his friend. "Shit, that little—" a tug on his long sleeves cut off his sentence, he turned around to see one of his classmates. A short girl of golden brown hair looked at him, smiling.

"Katy?" Lavi recognized the girl. "What's the matter?"

"I just want to ask something," the girl's accented high-pitched voice said. A little too bubbly for his taste. Lavi muttered a _sure_ and nodded his head, waiting for the girl to continue. "You know I'm in charge for the class profiles, the only missing profiles are you and Kanda. I tried interviewing him but he like, totally ignored me, Ms. Cloud would kill me if I don't submit it today! And I was wondering if I can interview you for Kanda's profile."

Lenalee just finished interrogating the boy which, by the way, failed miserably. He didn't answer that one important question and ignored her, that means there's still a chance he could be attracted to a man. With that thought in mind, she looked for her redheaded friend. Her eyes spotted him amongst the crowd, talking to a girl. She didn't approach them, thinking it would be rude. The pigtailed girl waited in a distance, but close enough to overhear their conversation.

"What Yu likes? He doesn't like pretty much everything."

"Okay, then, what food does he like?" the girl asked, a small notepad at one hand and a pen on the other.

"He only eats soba and tempura, sometimes, when there's no other food around, he's pretty tolerable about instant noodles."

"So he likes Japanese food, then?"

"Yeah, pretty much. But he kinda hates meat and stuff."

"What kind of things does he want, for example, ah.. movies, music and stuff?"

"He.." His eyes averted upwards, deep in thought. "..doesn't like music. He barely watches movies and he doesn't like material things. I can't think of anything he likes." Lavi decided not to say he liked flowers. Mainly because it was awfully gay and Kanda would surely take his head off.

"His hobbies?"

"Cooking. He likes gardening too."

"Dislikes?"

"Books written in English. But don't write that! He'll kill me." The girl only giggled. Lavi scratched his head, saying, "He hates group activities, food that is not soba or tempura, annoying people.."

The questions were simple, and Lavi answered them without hesitation but with certainty. Lenalee only smiled throughout their conversation, unintentionally eavesdropping. She was giggling, remembering Kanda's words a few moments ago, _'I want someone who knows me well, knows what I like and dislike.'_She swore to herself that she would help those two, though Kanda's feelings were still unknown, she wanted to take a chance. Who knows? They might be falling for each other.

The thought made her absurdly giggle inside her mind.

* * *

As the clock turned five, afternoon clouds soon covered the sky, its warm orange hues glazed the heavens. Exhausted, Lavi dragged his tired feet and legs on the streets inside the large area of Black Order. He was glad their coach ended basketball practice early. If he didn't, he would've stayed an hour more. Kanda also had practice in Kendo, and he would only be dismissed an hour later.

After walking on the paved road towards his dormitory, he turned to the last curve and he was greeted by the view of the rectangular building of his temporary home. It was a little sad to think he had to go to college, meaning he would also change residence. His plans on following Kanda to the Asian Branch of the Black Order University was still unchanged. It probably wouldn't be as lonely as he thought it would be, Kanda would still be with him. Though, it would be truly painful.

Shaking his head to get rid of his pessimistic thoughts, he paused awhile as he felt a raindrop on his forehead. He quickened his pace, not wanting to be caught under the rain again. He stopped in front of the building and went inside. On his way, a few people greeted him as he greeted back. It was a little noisy inside the halls, considering there are only men in the building. Footballs and unmentionable things were flying around, not literally, but close. Not wanting to take the elevator, since some of his dormmates were childishly playing with it, he took the stairs to the third floor. Much to his demise.

When he took one last step, he was greeted by Lenalee who was right outside his room. He assumed Kanda wasn't home yet and Lenalee was locked out. The girl sat up from her previous position and approached Lavi, a bitter look written on her face.

"What took you so long?" Lenalee asked, her hands at either side of her hips with what looked like a heavy porcelain container wrapped in a transparent paper bag, its handles hanging from her wrist.

"Basketball practice. You know that." Lavi replied, sliding off his gym bag off his shoulders to get his keys. Shuffling through his bag, he grabbed the metal keys and opened the door to his room. He chuckled a little before saying, "Sorry. Did you wait long?"

"Oh heavens, no. An _hour_ is such a short time." Her sarcasm only made him chuckle sheepishly. He caught the snobbish look in her eyes before she rolled them and entered the room cozily. She switched on the lights and opened the only windows of the room, which was also the entrance to the veranda. The opened windows gave the room a cool strong temperature. She noticed the rain was already pouring hard outside. It was only a soft drizzle but the wind began to strengthen

Lavi dropped his bag on the floor and took off his shoes. He settled himself under the room's kotatsu before turning on the electric heater beneath. He sighed pleasantly as he felt the heat rush through his lower body. He watched Lenalee settle herself too, preparing their dinner. Placing the large bowl on the table, she opened it. The sweet aroma of various meat and vegetables filled the room.

Lavi looked at the bowl and its contents, "Nabemono? In spring?" He asked as he took a spoon of the broth and sipped it. "What made you cook Japanese food?"

"I was looking through our old cooking books, this just happened to caught my eye. And for your information, it doesn't feel like spring here anyway." Lenalee helped herself and also took a plate of the soup-filled bowl of Nabe. After a sip, she began, "I talked with Kanda."

"What'd he say?"

"He didn't answer some of my vital questions."

"Which are..?"

"Whether he cares if it's a man or woman. He just said _What the hell_ and he began ignoring my questions. He was a difficult person to talk to in the beginning. And he was like, acting like I wasn't there. He looked confused and he was stammering when he was talking and I think he was blushing but I did notice he was uneasy throughout, so that means he was having considerations whether he likes men rather than women—"

"_He_ was just probably uncomfortable with you asking him weird questions. He hates that." Lavi cut off, his voice louder. He wanted to stop the girl's blabbering.

"And that! That thing you do!" she pointed an accusing spoon at him, Lavi did nothing but to look at her, and the spoon.

"Doing what?"

"He said he wanted someone who knows him well! _You_, my dear friend, knows him better than anyone else. And someone who's been with him for a long time!"

"Isn't that normal between friends?"

"My god! You're too close for friends. Friends are not that familiar with each other, Lavi. You're closer than any bestfriends I know!"

"Isn't it because we're stuck to live under the same roof? We're both in the same class? We grew up inside the Black Order?"

"I'm trying to help you here, be a little more cooperative. _Seriously._"

Lavi finished his bowl as he eyed the girl. He saw her cross her arms as an annoyed sigh escaped her lips. He swallowed his last bite before replying, "I'm thinking of forgetting about it. He wouldn't like me back."

"Are you _sure_ about that? There's still a chance!"

"What are the chances, exactly?" Lavi smirked as he saw Lenalee's expression. She looked like she was fed up with his witty replies.

"Here are my observations," She raised one finger, "One, he didn't answer my last question." She lifted another finger every option, "Two, he was stammering while answering my questions. Three, he hasn't show any signs of liking women. Four, he hasn't been on any relationship. Five, he told me his requirements for his lover. And _you _fit at being the one who knows him well—" She was cut off by a monotonous ringing of her phone and a vibration in her pockets. Taking her mobile phone out, she flipped it open and saw one text received.

"Brother is calling for me." She informed Lavi, who was relieved that she stopped talking about the long-haired man. She cursed under her breath. She swore she would never leave the room without the stupid redhead at least c_onsidering_trying to approach Kanda about his feelings. She muttered an incoherent word. She was torn between leaving her brother hungry and helping Lavi with his love problems. Thinking about it, she had to choose number one. She stood up from her seat.

"Leaving already?" Lavi asked. But he was secretly relieved that she was not there to help him with his Kanda problems and all. He appreciated it but he decided to solve it by his own. "But what about all this Nabe? Yu and I can't eat all of this."

"Just store it in the refrigerator." She said as she was putting on her shoes. She saw Lavi standing up as well.

He opened the door for her but before she could go outside, she looked at him with a gritty glint in her eyes. Lavi was taken aback, he knew she was planning something. Lavi only blinked at her actions. Lenalee suddenly started shuffling inside her bag. The redhead only watched. Her eyes narrowed with arrogance as her shuffling stopped and her hands clasped something. The redhead didn't liked it one bit. Almost suddenly, the girl roughly threw a magazine on Lavi's direction and he had to dodge it as the poor magazine slammed onto the wooden floor.

Lavi picked it up. He blinked at first but threw a confused look at Lenalee after reading the cover.

"What _is_ this?" The redhead asked, seeing the bright pink letters that read _seventeen._He looked at it as if it as something disgusting.

"Something I forgot." The girl said infuriatingly as she headed on her way to the end of the hall, where the elevator was located.

Lavi squinted his eyes slowly as he watched the girl's retreating back. He once again stared at the magazine on his hands. He had no idea what to do with it but he had the urge to open it and read its contents. He shrugged as he just noticed that he saw through Lenalee's subliminal messages, or rather, actions.

He twitched as he saw the contents of a randomly flipped page of the magazine. In the header were words saying, '_How do you know if you're really in love? Read this article about L-O-V-E!'_

Lavi, looking skeptical while looking at the glossy thin book, just shrugged and said, "This doesn't look legit."

But he read it anyway.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: Done~! In approximately 2 hours and 28 minutes! (Why, yes, I**_**am**_**pathetic enough to put out a stopwatch and see if how long I can finish one chapter.) Been busy these days 'cause I'm preparing for school and all. My classes will start next week and I still don't have notebooks and books. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.**

**Update next week, I'm excited about writing the next chapter because, well, there will be some action between Lavi and Kanda. (FUCKING FINALLY)**

**No Beta this time. Zaku is too busy**

**Wondering what the title means? Gutturotetany is a throat spasm that causes stammering in words. I got inspired writing this chapter because of reason containing; it's raining and I read Gutturotetany in my sister's**_**Nurse's Pocket Guide**_**:**_**Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions and Rationales**_**book.**

**Sadly, I only update on rainy days. :( **

**But have no fear! for my country is reaching its rainy season. Actually, it already did.**

**Oh, and sorry, the summary kept changing. I promise this will be the last T.T**

**Thanks to all reviewers and readers!!! I never expected 60 reviews in just 4 chapters. And I was like, (Is it really good? Because my low self-esteem said it's crap,**_**It sucks!**_**Shut up low self-esteem!)**

_**Reviews make me write **_


	6. Harlequin

•

**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

•

* * *

**•**

**6. Harlequin**

**•**

* * *

He was, without a doubt, certain that he was sick.

A weird uncommon, presumably unnamed, disease that made him palpitate, his body temperature to rise immensely, his breath to come in short pants, the exhales were hard to execute, and something was tingling inside his stomach. Why did these weird symptoms only appear when Lavi was around? Kanda had no idea. But he should stop thinking too much, get out of his self-colloquy and close the door behind him before the cold draft could get into the already cold room.

He tried to get rid of the growing annoyance that he was starting to feel when he saw the room in chaos. The kotatsu was dismantled, the comforter sliding off the tabletop. Clothes was scattered over the place. Wrappers, papers, a can of soda and more unmentionable things were spread on the floor. Their computer was set on standby, and it looked like Lavi forgot to turn off the voltage regulator. The sole window was open, the curtains practically looked like they were about to fall off from the rod due to the strong wind that began to blow from the outside.

He dropped his bag just about suddenly when he looked to his left. He should wake Lavi up because he was clearly sleeping on _his_ bed. Kanda twitched when he saw the redhead covered with his newly-washed blanket. The twitching got worse when he saw a stain on the bedspread, which looked like orange soda. And was that a magazine beside him?

Shaking his head to shrug off his thoughts, he approached the bed but stopped his tracks when his heart momentarily felt heavy. He couldn't see it, but his face was beet red. The boy slightly gasped when Lavi shifted his position and his shirtless torso came into view. At that point, he wasn't able to take it and woke the redhead up. He shook his shoulders almost violently as the redhead jolted to sit up. His eye looked groggy and his brain hadn't processed his surroundings yet but when he did—

"Y-Yu!" Lavi rolled off the bed, standing up. He felt his face flush. "Sorry! I fell asleep on your— and, well.. er—"

"Just clean it up." Kanda cut off. He looked at the redhead who was half-dressed. He was still wearing the school pants, his belt unbuckled. He quickly reverted his eyes to avoid further gawking.

Lavi's eye widened and blinked as the other one caught the disbelief in his eye. "You're not mad?" Kanda didn't respond. "I expected an _'idiot! Get out of here before I cut your head off!' _or _'I'll kill you if you won't clean this up in less than five seconds!_' or something along the lines."

"Shut up." Even though he mentioned he wasn't angry, for Lavi, his tone of voice clearly showed his slightest aggravation.

Lavi smiled and began to get rid of his mess. He took the chance to hide the magazine under his pillow when he saw Kanda undressing, taking off his uniform. Lavi quickly turned his head to look away. When he looked at Kanda once again, he was already in the process of changing into a white shirt.

"It's your turn this week." Kanda stated before he went to the kitchen. They usually took turns each week in doing the laundry. He put a clean black sleeveless shirt on before grabbing his dirty clothes from the floor along with the other clothes from the hamper, including Kanda's. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen room where the washing machine was.

Each room inside the building had a tiny kitchen in it. Theirs was no different. It wasn't that big, but it looked large enough for the both of them. The cream-colored walls made it visually wider in space. The fridge, counters, sink and dishwashing machine were placed against the walls on the north of the room. The washing machine and dryer was at the right of the room. There weren't that much appliances inside, though Kanda suggested to buy some, Lavi was too lazy to go out to the city. That or he was scared of scratching his grandfather's expensive and well-cared car. The last time he snuck it out, he was given detention that lasted for two days for doing absolutely nothing regarding breaking school rules. Bookman refused to give him neither a car nor a chance to get a driver's license.

When Lavi walked inside, the first scene he saw was Kanda shuffling for food in the fridge. He then walked over to the washing machine and operated it, breaking the heavy silence. His uncovered eye scrutinized every movement Kanda made; the way he took out a bowl, the way he sat on a chair that was adjacent to a small circular table and the way he shoved the bowl into he microwave a little too violently in his opinion. By now, the only sounds that could be heard were the machine's clattering and the noise coming from the microwave.

Kanda wondered why Lavi hadn't talked to him yet nor started a conversation. It's not like he wanted for Lavi to talk to him, it was just a little unusual that he hadn't. Lavi talking to him with his boisterous voice and witty insults was part of his daily schedule and without that; there would be a void, like there's something missing that had not completed his day yet.

It's not as if he _liked_ it… or something.

With his back facing the other one's back, Lavi leaned on the machine. The silence was too hard to bear and he was trying to think of a way on how to get out of the room. He wanted to just walk around outside, but the rain made it a little discouraging. The small rooftop greenhouse was also suitable, but he figured the place would be dark and humid because of the rain and since no one had the time or initiative to change the single broken fluorescent light there. Feeling the slight mood of thirst, he considered escaping from the uncomfortable atmosphere by simply going downstairs. There were vending machines there too. Excellent.

"Hey, Yu, I'm gonna get a drink downstairs." He only saw Kanda nod as response. Suddenly, almost an afterthought, he added, "Do ya want something too?"

"No." He was thirsty but his muddled mind slurred with fragments of responses and in the end left him undeniably tongue-tied. He wanted a drink. He wanted to say _yes_. He wanted to go with him downstairs.

"Alright then." Having nothing else to say, Lavi, almost evidently, hurriedly rushed out the small room then out of the room. Lavi closed the door behind him before covering his heated face with his palms. He remembered his result on that questionable love quiz written on a girly magazine Lenalee intentionally forgot.

He almost got a perfect score.

There were four results and twenty questions in all. Lavi tried his best to answer them honestly and did quite a good job at it. _Congratulations! You are in love with that person!_ He wished he could forget those exact words but it was clearly impossible with that brain of his.

"This is bad." He whispered to himself as he held his palm against his chest, his heart racing. Thank heavens there were no other people on the lonely hallway of their floor. He thanked Komui for assigning him to that exact dorm building on that exact floor since his first year. The halls were always so quiet and usually empty unlike the other floors where footballs and food were frequently thrown around. His other dorm mates were probably at the lobby on the first floor right now, where most of the electrical devices were placed. The average-sized satellite television was the most popular among the Building C Dormitory. The vending machines and snack bars were also located there.

* * *

The red-headed senior took the stairs down, knowing that the elevator was most likely being misused by the others downstairs. No matter how much he would press the down button, he already knew that it would never come up. Arriving at the lobby, he was greeted with familiar faces, most of them enjoying their time just chatting with each other, and some were cheering a football game on the television. Ignoring some of them as well as waving to others who greeted him, he walked over to the five vending machines which were adjacent to each other. Sodas, juices, energy drinks and others were visibly inside the machines. He inserted a coin and picked out a rootbeer, since that was the closest thing to alcohol he could ever get in the place. And in his current state, he seriously craved for some beer or anything with alcohol content right now.

Lavi took off the can's lid and quaffed its contents. Swallowing already the half of the rootbeer, he sighed in satisfaction as he figuratively felt the acid disintegrate the butterflies inside his stomach. Leaning his back against the tall soda machine, he got lost in his thoughts. Lavi hoped Kanda would already be asleep as soon as he went back up. He needed more time to kill before he had to go back to his room.

Before he could turn around to leave, he spotted a bottle of cold green tea. He eyed it warily, then blinked once before inserting another coin to get the said bottle. Lavi watched intently as the machine slowly released the bottle from its metal swirled casing and down to the claiming area below. He grabbed the bottle and stared at it.

He seriously had no idea what came over him and why he didn't have any hesitation in buying it. When he first saw it, his first thoughts were Kanda. Instincts were telling him to give it to him, as he knew nothing else from the drink machine would interest his friend. He suddenly remembered Kanda's supposed _requirements_ for a lover. Someone who knew him very well? That's a big plus for Lavi since no one else knew Kanda better than him. Now that he was conscious of his feelings, he wondered. This so-called _love_ felt unexpectedly, he was looking for a word, _good. _A part of him wanted him to keep it; another part of him wanted him to get rid of it.

Kanda was most likely confused by the strange behavior. He was awkwardly silent when the dark-haired man arrived. Almost a habit, he would shout his name as a greeting and talk about what happened to him that day. Forcing Kanda to play video games or watch a pirated burned CD fresh from the internet were one of his usual habits. Sometimes they would just talk all night, though Lavi did all the talking in most cases. But those simple things weren't enough, weren't satisfying. Does it mean he wanted more?

He wished he could just move on and get rid of his feelings for the man. But why was it so _fucking_ hard? He had no problem liking _men,_ but right now, he had a problem liking Kanda. Though it would be hard, painful and heartbreaking, he would forget about his feelings and act normal again. He didn't want Kanda to go away, and if ever all of those feelings made him do something stupid, Kanda would surely stay away from him. Settling his final decision, he let out a heavy exhale as if he had just cleared away all of his diffidence and confusion. He should go back, Kanda would be wondering why he hadn't come back yet. The boy upstairs might think Lavi was avoiding him. In any case, he needed to go back up any time soon.

Still wanting to stay there for few more minutes, he got himself two more cans of rootbeer and sat on a vacant couch not too far from the snack bar. Looking once more at the bottle he wanted to give to his friend, he smirked knowingly as he chugged cans of carbonated drink one after another.

* * *

Vexation overcame him. The short lack of Lavi's wayward presence in the room was frustratingly unsettling, and he alone, was desperately uncomfortable. Was it because he was too regrettably used to the room so noisy yet calming? The kind of ceremonious silence prevailed in the small room as the atmosphere was seemingly cold, chilly and somewhat sad for everything that can be heard were raindrops falling and directional downpour hitting the glass door from outside. Kanda could feel the warm sensation the kotatsu was providing, his arm obliquely supporting his head and his hair down, most of the dark strands covering his face but made no concern of it. His thoughts were as cold as snow and the only thing it made them warmer was one certain thought of one certain person. With his stomach full and an empty plate ignored on top of the table, soon after, his eyelids felt heavy and they were closing involuntarily. He shifted sideward, his hips touching the floor, his arms bent in front of his chest and his body curled up in a ball. The comfort the pillow was giving off was oddly escalating and the warmth made him a little more somnolent. At any rate, light sleep quickly came over him as he dozed into dreamland.

Several minutes had passed, his eyes opened conspicuously as he heard a door harshly being opened. He tried squinting them open but to no avail. He was too sleepy to even open his dark eyes and could only hear a closing of a door and slow, light footsteps, as if the person walking was trying its best to walk silently. Not minding it any longer, he immediately relaxed and went back to sleep.

Lavi cursed silently under his breath. A harlequin must be playing with him. Though he was grateful that he arrived with an already asleep Kanda, and he was now free from reciting the words to say that he kept practicing on the way to his room. But what struck him was the initial thought of a beautiful lady sleeping under their kotatsu with silky black hair, without any intention, elegantly sprawled on the rosewood floor. When the vision of his left eye cleared and he saw who it, in reality, was, he didn't just choke, his cheeks furiously reddened and his heart began racing. It thumped so fast and so loudly he could hear its pounding faintly. It was difficult to regain his composure with that painful pressure on his chest and temples.

Not realizing he was abusing Kanda's unawareness, he stared at him and found that this can be the only time he can look at him this close and in such a prolonged time. He sat himself on the ground, almost a ruler away from the sleeping figure of the other man, his legs crossed and his hands on either side of his knees and the bottle of a now semi-cold green tea beside him.

He never dared to ask Kanda the reason why he didn't cut his hair, and Lavi was somewhat contented he kept it this long. In Kanda's sideward position, the black straight strands of bangs were falling off his forehead, making his forehead visible which was not that frequent. His face was flawless and he wondered how he could pamper it like that. His cheek was nestled against the white pillow that looked like he just snagged from his bed. He was in a posture of tranquil dignity, without any trace of the usual stiffness to which he accustomed himself to. He was pale, almost white as ivory, for it went in contrast with his surrounding dark strands of hair. In Lavi's point of view, Kanda was strange, yet effeminately beautiful. Lavi watched the soft rise and fall of Kanda's torso and his breathing pattern with such fascination. Up and down. In and out. His soft long locks still rested like soft waves, looking a little moist from the shower he must have taken when the redhead stepped out of the place half an hour or so before.

Shaking his thoughts off, he practically hit himself on his head. At that time, he wasn't heating up, his heartbeat's not quickening, and instead, he felt utter satisfaction and faint yet resolute adoration. Was he currently rethinking to accept his feelings for Kanda? He really couldn't depend on one magazine but maybe, that magazine may actually be right. He might really be in love with this man and was not some cupid foolishly playing with his heart or any self-made syndrome he was imagining.

Transfixed but conscious enough, he must be out of his mind when his hand began to move, reaching towards the currently asleep man's pale face. The proximity between his slightly gaunt, robust fingers and Kanda's still features was almost an inch. The distance was closed when the redhead felt the surprisingly smooth surface of Kanda's cheek. He caressed his soft cheek as lightly as he could. He was so used to being so crude and rough with his actions that he was terrified that, unlike Kanda's smooth complexion, his rough hands would make him uncomfortable but that wasn't exactly the case as he noticed a very inconspicuous sigh escaped between the sleeping boy's lips. Lavi found himself smiling in contentment. Not satisfied with the partial view of his face, he pushed the few strands of hair behind his ears. He quickly, but hesitantly, withdrew when he noticed Kanda's eyes squinting its way to open. Lavi smiled again. It was almost amusing how Kanda lifted his body up to sit up in such an unladylike and raucous manner after he just assumed how effeminate he was.

Kanda rubbed his eyes to get rid of the blurry vision from the remnants of his short nap and wasn't awake enough to notice Lavi sitting beside him, grinning widely. He blinked a few times and saw the bunk bed and when he shifted his position to stand up, he turned his head to his left then finally saw a grinning man. An embarrassed expression was plastered on his face. His feet unbalanced and he found himself sitting again once more. Lavi looked at him directly while Kanda didn't even have the courage to face him after all his weird thoughts earlier.

"Here." Kanda slightly flinched then looked at Lavi, his eyes averting to whatever he was holding. He blinked before reading the words written on the bottle. _C2 Iced Tea: Green Tea Flavor._ In a trance, Kanda didn't say anything and just absentmindedly took it from Lavi's hands. He looked back up to see the slightly taller man's face who was still smiling at him. He then looked at the moist can for the second time as there was still water dripping from its edges. A little confused, he looked at Lavi with a dubious expression.

"You wouldn't like the other drinks downstairs but I figured you might like this."

Surprised and oddly embarrassed, the same symptoms started presenting themselves once again. That feverish sensation, the pressure his heart was excessively giving, the cringing stirring in his stomach and difficulty in breathing. He felt an incoming headache going up all the way to his brain. So, he did what any confused men do.

He immediately stood up. When the pale, arrogant profile of the dark-haired man remained sauntering towards the door, ignoring Lavi's questioning gaze, Kanda ran off towards the door, dropped the cold bottle by accident as the redhead only observed his abrupt movements until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Oh my god Lenalee! Thank you so much, I swear I'll bring it back tomorrow!"

Lenalee forced a smile as dark amethyst eyes followed the girl who began walking out of her door. All day, she had been getting requests by her close batchmates for notes about most major subjects since there were rumors spreading that a long diagnostic test will be given tomorrow. She breathed out deeply when she locked the door. She had hoped no one would no longer interfere her anymore since all her notebooks were now borrowed. She has the ability, a bit more like a _curse_, to accept any request or favors. It was a miserable curse, really.

Since she had already studied and let some few others to borrow her notes, she had the whole night free and it was still seven in the evening. With the weather and the free time in her hands, the young lady decided to pamper herself and give herself a quiet and relaxing time in a hot tub filled with the beautiful aroma of peppermint and lavender. She sighed with contentment just with the thought. Deciding to get her earphones and music player as well, she grabbed a towel, heading towards the bathroom. Just another step away from the bathroom door, loud continuous knocks was heard, resounding throughout the room.

Lenalee grunted in dismay and shouted, "Who's there?" She wasn't even near the door when it suddenly opened. Violet eyes widened when a man of dark hair and eyes came into view under the cream-colored doorframe, holding what looked like an unattached broken steel doorknob.

"I'm sick." The boy standing before her only said. Her mouth was agape as she found no words to reply to him. She only pressed her palm against her face, clearly upset.

"Kanda, if you're sick, you wouldn't be able to break my doorknob like that. Knock like a normal person!"

He made no reply, and noiselessly helped himself inside the girl's invaded space and sat himself on the floor, his legs crossed in a meditating position. Lenalee groaned in frustration by the way he had shown such lack of interest to her words. She had known this man for years and she could tolerate his speaking deficiency but whatever his problem is, it looked serious. She had sensed it from the very first moment, breaking the doorknob and all.

The way his face was no longer pale, instead that of a pinkish hue. The way his mouth formed an uneasy scowl as a storm of difficult contempt gathered over his face. Kanda looked too appalling for words. She closed the door behind her and attached the doorknob on the hole. Though exteriorly, the door looked fixed and normal, it was just a mere illusion once anyone would try to open it. She ignored it for awhile and focused on the man sitting on her floor. He didn't talk, neither did she. It was the first time Kanda would come for her help in general and it felt like it was the first time meeting the man. She ensconced on an armchair across him.

A few seconds had passed and there was complete and utter silence. All that can be heard was the light rain pouring down, the rustling of crickets and cicadas and the crowd outside consisting of giggles and girlish squeals. Lenalee was tempted to speak as she opened her mouth and closed it again.

"Something's wrong with me."

She blinked for a few seconds when she realized. Her eyes turned completely round when she thought more about it. Was he having problems similar to Lavi? Excitement filled her system as she trudged the chair she was sitting on closer to Kanda.

"Tell me. Tell me _everything._" she asked with a demanding tone, Kanda's eyes narrowed with doubt. Maybe he had chosen a wrong person to confide to.

"It's... I... Ah. It's just—something—" The boy suddenly stopped, redirected his gaze and turned his face away from the young girl. Lenalee's 20/20 vision was very clear, in her opinion, and she swore to god there was a glimpse of something red on his face. The dark-green-haired girl was shocked to the highest level possible. Stammering? Blushing? What did you do to my friend?! She thought. Though, what surprised her more were the embarrassed features of Kanda Yu. He was acting so out of character it was almost frightening. This must be the work of love! She thought. What else? With that note in mind, she tried the same approach she did to Lavi.

"Something's wrong with you?" Flicking her long twin ponytails off her torso so that it fell properly down her back, she faked a sympathetic look.

"I'm feeling something weird, in my stomach, and my heart beats faster." Kanda tried his best not to stutter, he had too much pride to even stammer with his words. While Kanda was shaping up his concentration and pride, Lenalee mentally snickered. She had a lot of time in her hands and it wouldn't hurt to tease the man a little bit. Kanda needed to be more specific. The more detailed, the better.

"I think you need a doctor, not me."

"It's not like that." His voice gradually lowered.

"I don't understand."

Kanda inhaled deeply before he heaved a very deep sigh. He gulped as he felt beads of sweat gathering on his temples. Lenalee found it quite odd since it was ridiculously chilly, but she knew the reason.

"It's about.. Lavi."

_Bingo._

"Did something happen? Did you two fight?" Kanda softly shook his head in disagreement as the scowl he was wearing turned into a thin line as he pursed his lips. "What happened?" Again, she faked her tone with concern and empathy.

"I… can't speak to that.. that.. _idiot _that well anymore. Whenever I tried to, I just couldn't." Kanda took notice of Lenalee's ever growing grin and the sparkles that were beginning to form on her eyes.

'_I. Can't. Believe. This.'_ Dark violet eyes flickered directed towards the man and widened considerably.

She felt excitement run through all the veins of her body. There were so many things that made her so frivolous that there were too many to write down. It was probably the fact that her two _male_ bestfriends were falling for each other or the fact that Kanda approached her for love advice. It all happened so fast. Just a few days ago, Lavi confided he had feelings for the same man sitting on her dorm room floor right at the very moment. Drama was sure to abound.

'_To be perfectly honest, I have _no_ idea what to do right now. I mean, seriously, how can I—'_

"Oi, what're you daydreaming about?" Kanda rudely broke her thoughts, a little scared of what Lenalee was thinking. Well, damn, _he_ himself was scared of what he was thinking. Fluttering and the like, it was a little too new to him. It was his very first time to feel that warm and fuzzy sensation. Confusing his mind further, he just had an initial thought that he was _g-g-ga—_

"Do you _like_ Lavi?" He wished he had heard it mistakenly but sadly, he heard it ever-so-correctly. When Lenalee still heard no reply from him, she repeated, "Kanda-_kun_. Do you like Lavi?_"_

He didn't know what was wrong with that certain question. Why couldn't he answer it? He felt his face heat up but tried to mask it by staying expressionless. Lavi was just a friend, and sure, he liked him as a friend but couldn't he just find the right amount of courage to say it in front of Lenalee? Saying it out loud felt too strange for him.

"What are you—"

"_Do you like Lavi_?" She said it more sternly.

For some reason, he found it hard to answer. "I don't—" Lenalee narrowed her eyes and cocked a brow as she threw a knowing look at him. "—dislike him."

"Just say you like him."

"It's the same thing."

Long lashes batted as she replied, "So, you _do_ like him." Kanda could feel his cheeks burning so he looked away from the woman to disguise them.

The ineluctable grin that Lenalee had been wearing was soon replaced with a rueful smile. She knew he was experiencing a profound unfamiliarity as she caught the look of ineptness in his eyes together with his unusual disconcerted trance. She did not even need to exert effort to define or analyze him. It was because she already knew.

"I can't describe it. It's different."

"Different?"

"It's the first time I've felt like this. Back then, I acted normal towards him, it started by the time we got into high school and now that we're going to grad—" He paused for awhile and Lenalee tilted her head. She waited for him to continue, "Maybe.."

"_Maybe_..what?" The girl was taken aback, did he already realize his feelings for his friend?

"My body is probably telling me to stay away from him. He made me skip class and sneak out of classes too. I wouldn't be able to graduate if I'm with him."

'_That's absurd!' _While the distressed lady was having a conference meeting in her brain, she managed to compare her two friends. They were both absurdly dense, and not to mention, unreasonable. Trying to figure out how to _figure_ out the other one's mind, she sighed for the hundredth time that day. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Knowing Kanda for a couple of years now, she knew how to get the truth out of him. Confusing but meaningful. Straightforward but devious.

"Kanda. You're in love."

Whoa, _rewind_.

"_What_?" he literally spat out.

"You're in love with Lavi. You have butterflies in your stomach, your heart skips beats, and you're all flushed and speechless when you're talking to him. What else do you need proof of? You've been with him since kindergarten!"

"T-That doesn't mean that I _l-l-lo-love_ h-him."

"And this is the first time I heard you stutter like this."

"It's because you're jumping in to crazy conclusions!" He looked angry now. He gritted his teeth as the scowl he wore went deeper.

Before speaking, she winked at him. "Crazy,yes, but not impossible."

"I don't _love_ him."

"Oh, come on. Stop denying it."

"I'm not—"

"Have you confessed yet?"

"I don't—No!"

"You said you like him, right?"

"Ye—No…"

"Does he like you too?"

"Ah—" His mouth stopped, agape as if no words dared come out. His dark orbs completely rounded and the question seemed to echo repeatedly inside his mind. Does Lavi like him that way? He felt utterly stupid for the thought of Lavi as a subject of romance. He knew it wasn't love. But, what does he know about love? In any case, Lenalee's wild theories have got to stop. She had gone too far puncturing his pretense of denial.

"Did you tell him about your feelings?"

"_Feelings?! _Be rational, Lenalee! Of.. of.. of _course_ not! He's a guy, that's not—"

"_You're_ the one who needs to be rational. Are you saying it's not possible for a guy to love another guy?"

He kept quiet for awhile as he sighed. His eyes were closed and yet his face focused on the carpeted floor as he sensed the small quiet giggles Lenalee was giving off. It was already out, what more was there to reveal? Confusion and realization crept up on his poor, saturated psyche.

He loves him. And for some reason, he wasn't that too much ashamed of it. The black-haired man flushed with embarrassment and nervousness.

"A-Are you upset?"

"Nah. Just surprised."

It was almost half an hour after he had arrived at his lady friend's room. He wanted to talk to Lenalee more when suddenly; Kanda heard the dormitory's all-out speakers roar together with a woman's rowdy voice. It was the dormitory's resident adviser.

"_It's 30 minutes before 8 o'clock! Dorm visitors listed in the record, please leave the premises before Light's Out at 9 o'clock. The following are; Yao Wang, Holly Golightly, Daisya Barry, Buck Chass, Yu Kanda, and Im Yong Soo. Please get out of Dorm A before I could personally kick yer asses outta here! Thank _you_!"_

"That's our R.A. We'll talk tomorrow."

* * *

Kanda had left minutes after the announcement and she was not at all surprised that there were few girls outside her door, presumably waiting for Kanda. She laughed when Kanda's already bad mood worsened. She was, once more, alone in the room. Her muscles tensed as she heard a soft knock. She was somewhat scared that Lavi might be the person outside her door, but after two more knocks, the thickened, familiar voice of a boy was heard as the door opened slowly, almost hesitantly.

"Lenalee? I just wanted to borrow some—"

"Oh my god, please don't tell me you're gay too!"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Allen. Forget what I said."

* * *

**A/N: Hope it's good enough :)**

**There will be a new chapter of DGM on August 17!! Colored pages and 50 pages and stuff. I am **_**so**_** skipping class for that and will be F5-ing OneManga like I'm getting freaking paid for it!**

**Sorry for the loooonnng update. I have school T.T **

**Still no beta, my beta is being such an arse these days.**

**Happy Belated Birthday, Lavi! -hearts-**


	7. Temulence

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**7. Temulence  
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* * *

Lenalee felt like the world crashed down upon her. What she thought would help painfully backfired. Trying her very best not to look like a stalker to outsiders' eyes, she hid herself behind the cafeteria's wide open doorway, her highly observant eyes staring at only one table inside the large room.

'_Talk to each other, damn it!'_

Her silent curse was enough to make her destroy the wall she was currently clutching. What was she looking at? Oh, just one long table with three certain people sitting on it. There was a white-haired boy in the middle, and two slightly older-looking ones on either side of him.

Allen was not minding his two new friends beside him and kept on eating his buffet of a lunch. He could eye them for a few seconds, but that usually resulted to his appetite decreasing and that was when he decided to ignore the two of them. The black-haired guy beside him looked like he hadn't had sleep last night and kept playing with his food absent-mindedly. And so Allen chose to ignore him the most. The redhead, on the other hand, looked like he didn't have that much sleep as well, considering those bags under his eyes and his deadpan gaze on his food while his fork swirled endlessly on the center of his plate of pasta.

As Lenalee saw this, her heart sank. She thought that having them both admit that they have feelings for each other to their very helpful, loving and endearing sister figure could have them confess. But it seemed like with the sudden turn of events, her plan devastatingly backfired.

Regret filled her whole being when she was informed by her not-so-helpful spy by the name of Allen Walker that Kanda was the first one to left their room that morning and Lavi following an hour later, shouting that he was late and carton of milk on his hand. She wanted to punch Kanda so hard when he didn't even bothered waking Lavi up, or prepared breakfast like he used to. That could only be clear evidence that Lenalee made their relationship worse, and she felt like she deserved that punch more than Kanda.

A sigh escaped her lips when her observed people were still not talking to each other. They had not even looked at each other today. An idea arose when Allen finally saw her, his eyebrows furrowed as if telling her that, '_Seriously-you-should-stop-making-me-your-accomplice' _or _'I-won't-do-anything-you-tell-me-to-anymore'_. If that was the case, Lenalee wouldn't be surprised at all, recalling her domineering spy demands to Allen. She was lucky her friend was just next to Lavi and Kanda's dorm room. She even went as far as making Allen eavesdrop. But of course Allen didn't comply; there were limits to his obedience, much to Lenalee's demise.

Lenalee threw a knowing look at him. Allen glared back with food still in his mouth. She glared threateningly at him. He shook his head with disagreement. She gave him a look of fake innocence and pleading gesture with her hands. Allen gave a frustrated look in return.

"Uh.. I need to go somewhere." Allen informed his ridiculously _attentive_ friends before he stood up.

"Sure."

"Hn."

With that, Allen scurried off to Lenalee's hiding place. He looked back to see the two boys left were on the same position as before.

"So? What happened? Your mission is to make them talk."

"It's not that bloody easy."

"Okay. I'm sorry." She said, peering in again on the two men on the table to see if there was progress, "But you could at least say something rather than eating your heart out."

"I don't even know why they're like this!"

"It's my fault. They—uh—had a _fight._" Lenalee averted her eyes from Allen. That was clearly a lie, since they really didn't fight. They just grew awkward to each other. The boy knew she was lying but being the gentleman he was, he didn't say anything impulsive. "Now go back there and try again."

"I tried! Many times! It is _really_ uncomfortable sitting next to them! Why don't _you_ try?"

"No way! I already made things worse!"

"Why did they fight anyway?"

There was a short pause.

"Classified information." Lenalee was nervous and Allen could sense it. Narrowed silver eyes met her anxious brown ones. The girl gulped.

"How can I help them make up if I don't even know why the bloody hell are they like this?!"

"I want to tell you! But I can't. Both of them will hate me if I tell _anyone!_"

"So, let me guess. There are two guys fighting. You said it was because of what you did.." Lenalee listened halfheartedly as she caught Allen in deep thought. She waited for him to continue, "They're fighting over you?" the surprised girl quickly covered Allen's mouth with her palm. She looked around, checking if anyone heard Allen's loud voice.

"You have _no_ idea how wrong you are."

* * *

No matter how much courage Lavi seemed to build up, he couldn't say a word. Though he vowed to himself to act normally towards Kanda, he realized that it was easier said than done. No, he just couldn't. Not after what happened last night when Kanda suddenly stormed off without a word and came back past ten. He was already asleep, tired from waiting for him to come back. Earlier this morning, Kanda didn't even wake him up. Should he apologize? But what was he sorry for? Was it because he hated iced green tea? Or maybe he did something wrong? He was running out of reasons why the other man would avoid talking to him like this.

No matter how much courage Kanda seemed to build up, he couldn't say a word. Sure, it was always Lavi who initiated their daily conversations, but avoiding and refusing to notice Lavi when he didn't even do anything wrong was very much poking on his guilt. Remorse clouded his eyes. Lavi was the kind of person to say sorry in any argument when he was truly not the one at fault. Kanda was afraid he would apologize when this whole ordeal was because of his lovesick self-centeredness.

"Uh.." Kanda's head quickly turned to look where the voice came from. He couldn't deny that he felt quite pleased to hear the other one talk. "Sorry."

'_Shit.'_

"I probably did something to make you mad.. or something."

"No."

"What..?"

"You didn't do anything. Stop apologizing."

"Really?" Kanda grew annoyed with Lavi's relieved tone. Lavi managed to let out a nervous laugh. When Kanda turned away, the redhead slapped himself. Well, that was embarrassing.

Too bad Lenalee couldn't hear it.

* * *

"I can't hear them!" Lenalee whispered, a little frustrated for being unable to hear the short talk the two exchanged.

"I'm going back in there, my lunch is getting cold."

"No you won't. They talked because you weren't there." Allen opened his mouth for a retort, but no words came out. "Stay here."

"You wanted me to go back moments ago."

"Later." She spoke, not taking her eyes off the silent couple.

Allen frowned. "You know, this is really not my problem, I would be willing to lend a hand if only I could come up with better words other than, _Oh, why hello there, Lavi and Kanda! I would love to help, too bad I don't have the slightest idea what happened between you two_!"

Lenalee chuckled slightly at the boy's remark and Allen couldn't help but to chuckle with her. The girl gave Allen an rueful smile. "Allen, I wanted to tell you, really! It's just that.. let me just say that.. it's a bit embarrassing. For them, at least"

"Just tell me when you're ready." A sigh escaped from the boy's lips. "You should eat now, lunch's almost over." Lenalee turned to look at Allen, who held this look of confidence. Lenalee couldn't help but to feel a little calmer.

With just that, the miserably failing trying-hard cupid found herself settled into the chair that the young man had just vacated; the seat between Lavi and Kanda. Allen soon followed her and sat across the three of them, pulling his lunch closer to him and began eating afterwards.

"Sorry I was late, I had to run some errands." Lenalee started, her voice was endearing and overflowing with suspicion. The white-haired boy stopped his urge to laugh. Lavi only let out a feeble _that's okay_ while Kanda only bothered to nod his head.

The girl took out her lunch, courtesy of her brother, Komui. She chose to ignore the overflowing heart-shaped carrots and onions mixed with her stir fry. The _I Love Lenalee _carved on the spring rolls were easy to ignore as well. But the face of her brother burned on her bread? That was just too hard to overlook. Her side of her lips twitched and the smile she wore faded in a second. She then slowly put the lid back on. The three men looked at her lunch with disgust.

"Stop looking at my food like it's horseshit. It's ruining my appetite."

"Lenalee, a lady shouldn't say those kinds of words." Allen commented as he chucked another ball of sweet dango in his mouth. The mentioned girl only rolled her eyes.

"Your appetite is probably already gone after seeing that." The redhead mocked harmlessly.

"I should make my own lunch," She opened her lunch again, only to close it again. "But I'm busy making yours."

"We didn't even ask ya. It's a'ight, Lena. I think we could manage." The redhead said.

"The last time I left you without my lunches, you were eating Cup Noodles for two weeks." Lavi threw her a look. "..and it was not the good kind."

Lavi only shrugged. "Ya know it's 'cause I dunno how to goddamn cook. And I only buy lunch from the cafeteria if it's Pasta Tuesday." It was then Lenalee turned her head at Kanda, who looked like he was trying his best not to be engrossed to the conversation.

"Oh, well since Lavi can't cook," she paused for awhile, and slowly turned her head to Kanda. "Why don't you cook for him, Kanda-_kun_?"

Kanda inwardly choked. Lavi narrowed his eyes at the girl. Allen was oblivious to the whole thing.

"I mean, you're a great cook! More than I could ever be!"

"No, I'm not."

"You thought me how to cook stir fry when we were kids!"

"I forgot."

"You're awful! Just awful!" Lenalee pouted before she took a bite from her burger, which was courteously offered by Allen for he had a lot on his plate—or _plates_ rather. He didn't want to his lovely friend to eat the abomination that was inside her lunch box.

There was then an awfully brutal but short moment of silence between the four of them which had then been disrupted by the cringing sound of the school bell.

Lavi always thought the duration of their lunch breaks, which lasted for only forty minutes, were god-awfully short. The redhead quickly finished off his remaining food, cleaning up his books and scattered papers from the table. He did his homework on breaks since he always slacked off every night, another reason to hate the short lunch breaks.

Lenalee was the one who stood up first and bid her goodbyes as Allen quickly followed behind her, waving to the two remaining figures on the table. Kanda got off his seat next, grabbing the small shoulder bag that he always brought wherever he goes. Lavi just sat there as he watched the retreating backs of other people who were heading for their next classes. He was surprised when one certain figure stopped his tracks and turned around to look at him.

"Hey idiot," Kanda glared at him. "You want to be late or what?"

It didn't sound as nice as a party invitation but Lavi couldn't help but to chuckle inwardly. He was hesitant, but he stood up from his seat and scurried off to where Kanda was, who proceeded to walk off when he noticed Lavi catch up.

* * *

"Think fast!" a voice boomed throughout the gym as an orange blur flew past people and painfully hit a particular red-headed man's forehead. The said man screamed in pain as he clutched his forehead protectively.

"Jesus Christ, Hopkins! This isn't fucking football!" Lavi vigorously shook his head, attempting to rid of the growing pain as well as the reddish bump that was beginning to form. He was starting to think the world literally hated his forehead. It was his third injury on that exact same spot that month. He cursed for not wearing his green bandana.

The mentioned man Hopkins threw him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, you were the only one open. I couldn't pass it to anyone else, cap'n."

"Don't blame this on Hopkins. It was just a normal overhead pass! You've been out of it since practice started." One of his team members said, catching the ball Lavi threw at him.

The injured man only sighed resignedly, shouting, "Hey coach! I'll take a break for awhile. Sullivan, take my place." The boy, Sullivan, quickly stood up and scampered to the court. Lavi eyed him as he himself sat on the bench, patting his sweat with a towel. He always thought the Sullivan kid was weak. He was a scrawny little freshman but he was amazed at how fast he moved during practice.

Their coach handed him an ice pack which he took gratefully and pressed it against his throbbing temple. "Smith's right, Lavi. You've been distracted lately." The couch consoled, "Well, I hope this doesn't fuck up yer playing.. or yer studies."

"It won't, commander." he answered jokingly. He then continued watching the others playing, their quick sprints and passes made his head dizzier. He watched as one member formed a letter 'T' with his hands, signaling for a break as he approached Lavi. Another one did the same and followed.

Two figures sat on either side of the wounded captain. Lavi received a strong pat of the back from one of them.

"What's wrong, man? You've been the Duke of Grumpy World since morning." One of the seated figures said. Lavi turned his head to see the familiar face of Evan Smith, one of his jock buddies since his freshmen years.

Lavi looked at him with a sigh and covered his face with his palms. "I think I'm in love or something." Both the two men beside him roared very loud laughs, so loud that the others practicing looked at them and too loud that Lavi elbowed on their sides to silence them.

The other one beside the redhead was Seth Irving. "Let me guess! She's a cheerleader isn't she?" he proudly said, wiping his auburn hair with a towel.

"Oh! Is she a varsity cheerleader?" Evan asked, and paused for a moment before speaking, "..or a regular cheerleader?"

Lavi stared at them with a brow raised and a questioning look, "What the hell, guys? Why cheerleaders? And to answer your freakin' question, no, he—she's not a cheerleader."

"Most of your girlfriends were cheerleaders. So I thought—" the man paused, "Wait, my mistake, most of your girlfriends were _hot,_ _varsity _cheerleaders."

"I didn't notice." Lavi grunted. "And I don't even care."

"So who is it?"

"Why would I tell ya assholes? You're worse than the girls from the newspaper club. The next thing I know, the whole university knows who it is, including the college buildings."

"Come on, bro. We're not like that."

"You can tell us _anything_."

Lavi narrowed his eyes at the unusually skeptical grin the blond and the brunette was giving. "No. Ya know what, just forget what I just said." It was impossible. He couldn't afford to tell it to anyone. Of course, except Lenalee.

It was then their coach whistled at the three men and yelled out, "Smith! Bookman! Irving! Get your asses back on the fuckin' court!" he boomed loudly, pointing sternly at the quad.

"But coach! I'm injured!"

"No one cares, Junior. Now get yer ass over here!"

"Damn, I'm beat." Evan sighed, standing up anyway and headed back to the game. Seth followed afterwards, but before he ran off to the court, he turned to Lavi, "We can't just forget that our awesome cap'n is in love! Tell us, man!"

Lavi stood up but not before striking the ice pack on his forehead on last time. The coach passed him the orange ball. "I said I dun wanna tell ya. Just shut up and play, goddamit!"

The coach boomed again with his harsh rough voice, "Junior, you're shooting guard in Team Black. Irving on center in Team Red. Smith on point guard in Team Red. Go!"

Another session started and Seth was assigned as the center, giving him the first ball. He ran off to his team's basket, dribbling the ball with him. Lavi swiftly blocked his way, threw his arms on his side and went on a defensive stance.

"So Junior, still not gonna tell us?" Seth said smugly, trying to dribble past the defender in front of him.

"No." Lavi said, as he skillfully stole the ball from Seth's hands. He heard him curse. Lavi was then blocked by Evan who was on defense as well.

"We're dying to know, who is it, Lavi?"

"Ya bastards never give up, huh?"

"And you're awfully more stubborn than normal."

"There's nothin' ya can do to make me spill."

"Then we'll just have to get the cap'n drunk then." He tried to steal the ball from Lavi, but failed. "You know, there are eight types of drunk."

Lavi circled around him and made a pass to one of his teammates. He continued to talk with Seth, "And what type of drunk am I?"

"All of the fucking above! That's why you have _got_ to go the start-of-the-year jock party later, man." The brown-haired player said, wiping his sweat off.

"Alcohol isn't allowed inside the dorms."

"Who said we're holding the party in the dorms this year?" He said gloriously, "The soccer team managed to reserve a bar down in the city! We're going to the _Gates of Hell_! Gates of Hell!That shit's so cash, bro."

"I'll come, maybe." He let out another sigh, "Probably just get a few shots and go. I don't want to go to class with a hangover."

"Wicked."

It was then another orange blur went past across the square as a loud voice boomed, "Lavi!" he heard, and when the redhead turned around, the incredibly hard ball painfully went on full impact on his already injured forehead.

"_Holy mother of_—Get back here Hopkins, you son-of-a-bitch!"

* * *

Later that night, the annual Sports-Club-only, start-of-the-year party was held on a classy yet wild bar called _The Gates of Hell._ Lavi used his grandfather's car to go out the city, without permission, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and uneasy. He parked it to the most secluded area on the lot. So if by any chance, some crazy drunk bastards were to wrestle outside, the car would be scratchless. He knew it wouldn't get stolen. The vehicle had the same security level as a robot bouncer with laser eyes. And he trusted the streets of London wholeheartedly.

When he arrived inside, along with some of the members of the basketball team, he couldn't see anyone's faces nor recognize them due the darkness of the room and the lively, playful neon lights didn't help at all. The dance floor and foyer were the most crowded, the metal stairs packed with people as well. A minute later, a familiar face rounded the corner, pushing away the crowd to get out of his way. Lavi recognized him instantly.

"Yo, Daisya!" Lavi called out. The said man saw him as well and smiled. "Hey Lavi, Kanda didn't come?"

"He didn't want to."

"Figured as much." Daisya looked around, fixing up his black hoodie over his head. "Nice place we got, huh? The school didn't agree at first. But when Sir Zokalo was totally fine with it, they clinched the deal."

Lavi laughed calmly, grabbing one can of beer from the ice barrel. "This shows how much the soccer team squanders all the sports funds." He joked before taking a sip from his beer and exhaled loudly.

"Come on, just because we're fucking rich doesn't mean we spend it on useless shit like this." Daisya said, throwing out a can of beer and ordering a shot, "Tequila Suicide, good sir." The bartender nodded politely and began mixing his drink. Daisya, while waiting for the drink, noticed Lavi just sitting there, his beer can empty. "Aren't you gonna drink? One beer can't be enough for one man."

"I don't plan on drinking tonight. See those fucking bastards over there?" Lavi pointed by nodding towards the other direction, where his basketball buddies, Seth and Evan, was playing cards along with other familiar faces. Daisya looked and nodded. "They're waiting for me to get crazy drunk."

"Huh? What for?"

"Bastards want me to spill some of m'secrets."

"_That_ I want to know. Have a few shots. Come on."

"Damn you."

* * *

Daisya looked around, past the clump of people, looking for his friend. He had lost Lavi earlier when the redhead got drunk after several shots later and disappeared among the crowds of people. They had a contest and Lavi was the surefire winner. They randomly picked a drink, not knowing what it was or what it even tasted like. It was then Seth and Evan met up with them and suggested _Sazerac_. Lavi didn't know what it was, not having any knowledge in liquor whatsoever. But Daisya knew and he looked at Seth and Evan with wide eyes. They had told Lavi it was, '_S'alright man, it's not that strong.' _It was the exact opposite. After only two shots, Daisya was already feeling dizzy and he declared Lavi the winner. But the redhead already had five glasses and before they knew it, the redhead was extremely drunk and disappeared before Seth and Evan could take advantage of his current state and make him _spill_ his secrets. The hooded man was starting to feel dizzy again and sat down on one of the chairs in the foyer.

"Daisya!" a voice called out. Daisya looked up to see Seth, half-drunk. "Found Lavi yet? Boy, that jackass is fast."

"No, probably making out with a girl somewhere."

"You saw him?"

"Yeah, two times, with a black-haired girl and another one. With black hair. And.. my head is fucking exploding!" Daisya said, his tone was slurred and a little unsteady. "But then, he disappeared. Again."

Just then, the crowd lessened and they caught a glimpse of a redheaded man sitting on the couch with a black-haired girl sitting on his lap.

"Sethy, my boy, please tell me that ain't Lavi."

"It is, Daisya. It is."

"Is he planning to make out with all the women with black hair in here? _I_ haven't even touched a girl tonight. Lucky bastard."

"I better take the boy home before he does something stupid." Seth said but stopped when Daisya stood up, "Let me handle this, I'll call Kanda to pick him up."

The two then saw Evan walk up to them, "Have you seen Junior?! He's been hooking up with different black-haired beauties all night!"

"We noticed." The two said in unison. "Some fetish he has."

The three approached Lavi who was now alone on the couch, waving woozily at the retreating back of the woman he was just hooking up seconds ago.

"Hey man, it's almost one in the morning. You need to go back, man." Daisya said, trying to help him up but Lavi didn't move and instead took another swig from his glass of alcoholic drink_._

"Look, gu..ys. I'm, like, having.. so much fun! I dun..no wanna.. go…" Lavi grumbled, words almost incomprehensible.

Evan took it as a chance to ask, "Lavi! Can ya tell us who're you in love with now?"

"I think he's too drunk to understand." Seth said.

"Ya know.. what? I'll call 'em right now!" Lavi shouted confidently, shuffling his pockets for his mobile phone. When he did, he dialed a series of numbers and put it by his ear.

"Lavi, you have done very many stupid things, and we forgive you, but this must be the stupidest of them all. Stop it, before you do something you'd regret!" Daisya warned as he tried to pry the cellphone off his hands. But Lavi was incredibly stubborn and the phone was still ringing.

"Who're you calling? Lavi, I think you should—"

"It answered!" Lavi shouted as he was completely unaware of the horrified, widened eyes of his three friends.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and even past that when Kanda Yu woke up to the annoying ringing and vibrating of his phone. He groaned in displeasure as he reached out for his phone under the pillow. His eyes were closed when he accepted the call and didn't bother to look who the caller was.

"I swear to God I would puncture your lungs with poison if this is you, Lavi."

He didn't get a reply, no one answered, but he could hear loud bass music and people rambling on the other side of the line. Kanda blinked a few times and spoke, "Hello?"

All he could hear were faint voices saying, "_Stop man! You're drunk and you need to calm the fucking down_!" and another one which he kind of recognized, "_Seriously dude! Hang up! Hang up!_"

But it didn't and was kept on line. He moved his phone away from his ear and looked at the caller, it read _Lavi_. Kanda widened his eyes and listened again to the faded voices in the background.

"_Did he hung up_?"

"_I think so_."

"_Ya fuckin'.. assholes! Why'd ya do that, yar all fuckin—_"

"_Jesus, he's crying!_"

"_Don't cry, man!_"

"_That's it, you're going home._"

Then it hung up. Kanda listened to the beeping sound before snapping out, "What the hell." He felt the slightest feeling of worry. He looked at the clock and saw it was already one in the morning. He kicked the top bed and it bounced slightly, meaning Lavi wasn't there.

"That goddamn rabbit better not be doing anything stupid." He grunted as he tried to call Lavi's phone. He cursed when he heard another series of beeps, which meant the line was busy.

Right after he canceled the call, his phone vibrated and rang again, Kanda stared at the screen before answering quickly.

"What?" he spat out.

"Whoa, that was fast. This is Kanda, right? It's Daisya."

"Wha—Why're you calling from Lavi's phone?"

"Look, he's awfully drunk right now. And he's being a crazy asshole in here. Wouldja mind picking him up?"

"That explains the call earlier."

"Wait. _Whooooaaa _there. Re-_fucking_-wind. Lavi called _you_ earlier?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Right before I called?"

"Yeah."

"…"

"Hey."

"Awk_waaaarddd_.."

"What?"

"Nothing man, just pick him up. We can't call Sir Bookman since he stole his car to get here. Hope you'll be here soo— Seth! Stop him, he's making out with another—"

Daisya then hung up. Kanda's slanted sleepy eyes widened then twitched ridiculously. Drunk? Making out? Oh, he'll pick him up. He'll definitely pick him up.

* * *

He commuted to city. He rode the university shuttle bus, which he loathed with every fiber of his body. Not too soon after, Kanda had rushed down to the bar. When he went inside, music filled his ears, and he could feel the vibrations of bass from his feet. He grew aggravated by the second. He always hated loud places, and this was probably listed on top of his least favorite places. He walked through the foyer and into the bar with the keg, which was surrounded by a few older guys. He walked past it and tried his best to avoid physical contact. He then walked past a group of drunk college guys.

"Hey there babe," one of them said to Kanda, he was ridiculously tall and held a beer on his hand. Kanda swiftly blew a fist straight to the jaw as the man went down, face on the floor, unconscious. A few people looked at the downed man, but they thought he just passed out from drinking too much. Kanda scoffed and walked away, stepping on the man's head in the process.

After squeezing through the enormous amount of crowds of half-drunk idiots, he saw a glimpse of a hooded man by the pool table and recognized Daisya. The said man turned around as Kanda saw the man's relieved expression.

"Thank god you're here!" Daisya yelled with delight and relief. He pointed at Lavi, who was tied to one of the pool table's leg. "The boy's unconscious.. well, that's what we think." Seth began untying Lavi and helped him up. The men's eyes widened when Lavi opened his eyes and groaned in pain.

"Bastard's drunk as hell." Evan informed Kanda, as he slung Lavi's arm over Kanda's shoulders. "He had literally tasted all the alcohol here like some kind of psycho wine taster."

"_Yuuuuuuuu_! Yu's here! I'm.. I'm.. so.. haaaa..ppyy…" Lavi managed to mumble happily as his arms wrapped around Kanda's neck. The embraced boy flushed for a moment and quickly pushed the drunk redhead off but the redhead's clutch was god-strong and he remained there. Kanda's face heated and he had hoped no one would notice. His chest was beginning to throb wildly. The knowing look Daisya threw at him didn't ease his madly beating heart at all. Daisya _knew_ something.

"I'll help him get in the car." Daisya offered as he slung another arm of Lavi's over his shoulders.

They pushed through the dance floor and out onto the porch and onto the parking lot. Once they had dragged Lavi to his car, Daisya took Lavi's arm off and said, "Thanks Kanda. I don't know if he'd be sober enough to go to class tomorrow though."

With that, the man waved his goodbye and went back inside _The Gates of Hell_. Kanda sneered at the name, thinking it was ironically perfect for a bar like that. He watched as Daisya disappeared to the crowd and then turned his head to look at Lavi who was sleeping like a good baby. He exhaled loudly. Kanda shuffled through Lavi's pockets for the car keys and he felt himself flush as he did so. Once he had the keys, he opened the door and roughly pushed Lavi inside onto the passenger seat and he followed, settling himself on the driver's seat.

While on the way back to the university area, Lavi peacefully slept, his head resting against the closed window. There were no outbursts, sudden shouts, nothing. He just sat there. Kanda looked at the car's stereo clock and it read two o'clock in the morning. He sighed, irritated. He just hoped that no officer would stop their car since none of them had a driver's license. He wasn't in the mood for confrontations. When everything was quiet, the city lights slowly disappearing, Lavi shifted his position and rested his head on Kanda's shoulder. Kanda slightly jumped on his seat, startled and a little nervous. But he didn't move. He couldn't. They stayed liked that until they had arrived in the front of the dormitory building.

* * *

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**A/N: I just want to say sorry for updating after half a year. I'm really sorry ;_; Really! I am! I'm very sorry! _Ma'af! Patawad! Zao mi je! Ich bedaure! Lo siento! Anteeksi! _**_**Mi dispiace! Désolé! **_**I swear to the weathergirl I would update faster! I seriously will. I'll try to write everyday so there's at least progress. I had a short author's block, or whatever you call it.  
**

**Thank you for your amazing reviews , guys seriously. I would hug you right now if I can. You guys are angels, everyone makes me so happy :')  
**

**Thanks to _Elisya_ :) for being awesome.**

**I don't own the series :)**


	8. Enervation

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**8. Enervation  
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* * *

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When Lavi woke up to the sunshine that seemed to shine brighter than normal, he felt like his body just came from Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell. He groaned painfully as he felt another heartbeat in his head, beating violently. There was havoc being wreaked upon his stomach as well. He tried to open one eye which was a very difficult task as it was more sensitive to light. His muscles and joints were sore and the inebriated redhead managed to let out a long raspy moan that appeared to sound more like whimpers. As he groaned more loudly, he felt his very dry throat and noticed that his body seemed to lost its ability to generate saliva. He was dehydrating faster than a man wandering in the middle of the Sahara. Death sounded so heavenly at the moment. He thought.

The redhead tried to lift his head, but it resulted to another series of painful pounding in the head. So, moving was not an option as well. He turned his head to the side, in the slowest way possible, and looked directly at the alarm clock which was ticking a lot louder than before. His vision was blurry and the numbers were hazy. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the time.

"12 o'clock?" He shouted with his dry mouth as he inadvertently sat up on the bed. He shouted as pain quickly shot up behind his back and on his already throbbing head. As he held his arms and hands firmly to his head to prevent further cranial pain, he rolled off the bed, dropping to the floor with a loud thump which gave more room for additional agony on his body. He was in too much pain to notice that he had slept on Kanda's part of the bunk bed.

"I'll never drink again.." he grumbled, his voice hoarse and his throat sore. Lavi stayed on the floor for a bit as it somehow felt as soft as the bed. He didn't want to speak anymore since he felt like puking whenever he did. He scanned the room and noticed there were no traces of his roommate. Still lying on his stomach on the floor, he stared at the _kotatsu_ table in front of him. He saw a small orange container on top and a bottle of Gatorade.

Standing was a huge issue, and it took all of his willpower to move when moving his arms was already a challenge. He was hungry. And thirsty. Very thirsty. But when the thought of eating or drinking anything came into mind, he felt like vomiting his intestines out. He tried to remember anything that happened from the night before. He couldn't remember who he was with, where he was and what he drank. He just hoped he didn't do anything stupid. He was still wearing his last night's clothes and he could faintly smell the women's perfume on it. The smell was beginning to make him even more nauseous.

Since he was very sensitive to light, sound and smell at present, he could slightly smell the bacon from their small kitchen. He muttered a silent questioning curse, he didn't even know they had bacon. And that was when his stomach gave in. His body's initial reaction was to run to the bathroom, in which his body complied and began to painfully throw up whatever it was in his stomach, kneeling before the toilet bowl which Lavi seemed to worship and call The Porcelain God.

His nausea had not lessened somehow. After his stomach emptied, he didn't bother looking at his acidic vomit and immediately dropped his body on the bathroom tiles. He felt lightheaded and he had the urge to sleep again but was too tired to crawl back to bed.

"Fuck this shit." he muttered annoyingly, hoping the cool feeling on his cheek was the bathroom tile and not his fresh vomit. He was the very best example of the phrase, _No good deed goes unpunished._ Drinking his hearts out one night, and not wanting to live the next day. He stayed curled up on the bathroom tile for quite a while.

* * *

Kanda stood up from his seat, as the bell rang for lunch break. He wasn't planning to go down to the cafeteria as he cooked his own lunch. Lenalee told him that morning that, starting from today, she wouldn't cook for them. The girl asked where the redhead was and Kanda told her he was sick. She worried for a while but then bid her goodbyes as she informed him that she would visit later and to meet her in front of his classroom. Kanda didn't want to wake the poor redhead earlier so the least he could do was prepare a container of Tylenol and Gatorade for him. He also prepared bacon and eggs, as he heard it was a great cure for hangovers.

Last night was a pain. And Kanda didn't want to remember half of it. He had to wake up in the middle of the night and pick his friend up at a bar down at the city. He also had to haul Lavi's intoxicated body home. When they arrived at the building, Lavi, at that time, had a mental capacity of a stapler so they only made it halfway down the hallways where he slurred, "T..Tired.. too tired..". He then plopped down next to another room's door. Luckily, Kanda was strong enough to drag him to their room, but once there, Lavi sighed in defeat and immediately fell himself on Kanda's bed and almost pulled Kanda with him. If it hadn't been for Kanda's fast impulse to pull away quickly, he would have gone down with him. He kept muttering something along the lines of "love" and "you" and Kanda denied the fact that he started to feel a bit of jealousy. He then noticed the sleeping man shifted on the bed, trying to get into a more comfortable position. The twitching boy knew the redhead wouldn't get off no matter what so he had to sleep on Lavi's bed where he wished he hadn't, for he saw a magazine under his pillow. And it was not the kind men would buy. He told Lenalee about it, his personal love counselor (and Lavi's as well, but he didn't know that) and the girl only apologized and told him it was her magazine that she forgot at their room.

Kanda suddenly lost his appetite. He was worried about Lavi, thinking he should have woke him up. But he figured he wasn't in the state where he can go to class when he couldn't even stay awake for five minutes. He looked around the room, and saw only a few who stayed. He then buried his face in his arms and tried to sleep, he lacked too much sleep after all and he literally pinched himself to stay awake during the teachers' lectures. It didn't feel like a short nap when he opened his eyes to wake up. He felt like he had slept for a whole night. He looked over to the classroom clock and realized it was already ten minutes before break was over. He then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, no sound coming out. Flipping it open, he saw Lavi's name on the screen. His eyes widened before he pressed a button.

Before Kanda could say something, the other line already spoke, "_Yuuuuuu_…." Lavi's words were nearly beyond understanding and sounded as if he was whimpering like a wounded puppy.

"L-Lavi?" Kanda stuttered with trying resentment, a little embarrassed that he was showing patent worry. To Lavi nonetheless.

"I..I.." Lavi was stuttering as well, but it was due to the unbearable headache he had. Kanda waited for him to continue, "I want to die."

"D-Did you eat yet? Or drank the medicine?"

"Yeah..? The whole bottle.."

"What?" Kanda shouted, surprised as he involuntarily smashed his fist on the table. His eyes were wide and his body filled with anxiety. "You _idiot_! You're supposed to drink only one!" his voice was loud enough to attract looks from his classmates.

"The more I drink.. the faster I'll get.. bet—" he stopped with an almost gagging sound and Kanda could feel disgust and worry mixing in his thoughts. "Please come home.."

His face flushed. The black-haired boy tried his best not to feel flattered. "I-I can't." Lavi groaned in reply, disgruntled on the other line. "I can skip after-school activi—"

"I can't wait that long!" Lavi whined and slurred loudly. He sounded so sick and fraught that his voice gradually lowered into whimpers. "I just crawled across the room to call Yu!"

Lavi had never raised his voice like that, and it annoyed him. Kanda pursed his lips, his eyebrows curving downward, showing obvious indecision. "Fine, you fucking idiot! I'll be there soon!" With that, Kanda angrily pressed the button to hang up. He grabbed his bag and began walking out of the room, almost in cue with the ringing school bell. Kanda didn't mind it and focused on walking.

"Where you going, Kanda? Classes are about to start!"

* * *

It was the wrath of grapes and cereal grains. How could those innocent beverages invented by Mesopotamians do this to a body of one man? He was again lying on the bathroom floor, still worshipping the Porcelain God as he tried his best not to throw up by trying to be as still as possible. He had thrown up at least five times, and none of which relieved the French Revolution going on in his abdomen. In fact, it worsened as it churned up once more.

"Lavi!" he heard someone shout coming from behind.

Lavi turned his head around to see a very familiar man standing under the bathroom doorway. He wanted to speak but was interrupted by another rollercoaster twisting in his stomach and began to throw up in the toilet bowl. He felt a hand rubbing against his back. Though Kanda intentionally wanted to soothe him, his pats were unintentionally stern and unsympathetic.

"You.. You look like shit." Kanda said, noticing the haggard look the man wore as he tried so very hard not to pay attention to the repulsive gagging sounds Lavi was giving off. He cringed slightly at the nauseating smell as he helped the sick man stand up.

"I wish I could think up for a retort but I can't." the redhead mumbled as he conveyed all his body weight to Kanda who was now literally carrying the ill man toward the bed. As Lavi lied down on the soft surface, Kanda sat down at the edge of the bed to rest.

Kanda flinched when he felt a hand shackle around his wrist. He averted his eyes to the resting man and saw his unconvincing attempt to look resolute.

"I'm hungry."

Kanda blinked and was contemplating whether he heard his words right. He was blushing more than he should use to, and he didn't like it. "There's bacon in the kitchen. Go feed yourself, idiot."

"I don't feel like eating bacon."

"Then go cook by yourself."

"But I can't move..?" Lavi replied with uncertainty, almost as if he wasn't sure of his answer.

"I said _no,_ lazyass."

That was a bogus idea. Lavi thought. Sure, his thinking was a little off, but he was still aware that this man sitting on the side of the bed was Kanda Yu. Taking advantage of his little hangover wasn't the brightest idea, but he sure hoped it would work somehow in some ways.

"Could you at least bring the plate here?" he pleaded weakly.

"You're not allowed to eat on my bed."

Lavi pursed his lips and averted his gaze as he let out a small unobtrusive sigh of resignation. He felt his stomach agitate, but without the urge of vomiting. A slight feeling of relief arose when he felt a tad bit better than before.

Kanda only grunted as a response, roughly pulling his grabbed wrist off Lavi's grip. Lavi watched him walk away as he disappeared into the small kitchen. Another sigh escaped his lips as he shifted in his position and rolled to his side, facing the wall. He still had his headache, but it was gradually subsiding.

"Hey," Lavi heard a voice from behind him. He turned around and was met by a violent throw of bundled clothes. "Take a shower and get rid of that fucking god-awful smell."

"What smell?"

"Alcohol and perfume. It's _disgusting._" Kanda said with a frown. Well, Lavi couldn't see his face, but it was obvious how angry he was when he spoke. And he always wore a frown anyway.

Lavi then felt an undesirable urge to apologize to everybody. The hungover redhead groaned as he attempted to sit up but was unable to. Kanda saw the man struggling and hesitantly approached the slightly sober man to help. Both of them were as red as tomatoes, but none of the two noticed.

"Uh.." he started, scratching his right cheek, a gesture he absentmindedly do. "I guess I should say thanks."

"For what?" Kanda asked, raising a brow.

"Well.." he redirected his gaze, somewhere where he couldn't see Kanda's face, "A lot. I mean, you skipped class—"

"D-Don't get the wrong idea." Lavi looked at him questionably, just about skeptical. He couldn't see Kanda's expression and Lavi found it hard to read his feelings through his words, "I..I just hate the next subject. That's all."

"Huh? But Yu likes Math." Lavi remembered, memorizing their class schedule beforehand. As well as other classes' schedules. "I don't, but I know you do."

Shit. Kanda thought. He should have given more thought about his excuses. He did like Math. It didn't have any unfamiliar words, grammar and or any need of memorizing. All it needed was analysis, something Lavi wasn't particularly good at. It was quiet for a while. Kanda didn't say another word as he could feel Lavi's triumphant smirk even if he was meters away and couldn't see him.

Lavi stood up, his legs and thighs still somewhat numb. He could hardly walk and he wasn't sure anymore if Kanda was still willing to help. He staggered towards the bathroom and as soon as he went inside, his stomach churned by the nauseous smell coming from the small tiled room. He eyed Kanda disappearing to the kitchen again, closing the door and locking it in process. Kanda started to hear the water running and assumed Lavi was already cleaning himself up.

"S-Stupid rabbit.." Kanda muttered angrily with a red, heated face.

* * *

"Lenalee!"

The mentioned girl turned around, facing the owner of the voice.

"Allen!" She smiled, only because he was smiling politely to her and she felt the need to smile back. "I'm suppose to meet Kanda here. But one of his classmates said he was gone. Do you know where he is?" The girl questioned. She had been wandering around the halls, waiting for the said man. Everyone was bustling around, students chatting and making plans after school. It had been a few minutes since dismissal, and there was still no sign of Kanda.

"Probably drowning somewhere, buried alive, I don't know. But I sure hope it's something bad." Allen replied with a scornful shrug as if it was something unimportant. Lenalee felt bad, but she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Don't say that." She said with a giggle, reaching for her phone from her bag. Allen just watched her. "Sure, he's an ass, but he's a really nice person once you get to know him."

"Funny. It's the first time you lied."

"He's not that bad, I promise!" The girl replied with a convincing tone. The boy shrugged again and continued watching the girl press her fingers on the phone in an almost inhuman speed.

"Who're you texting?"

"Kanda. He just can—what an _ass_!" Lenalee shouted suddenly which surprised the white-haired boy. He walked over to her side to peek at her phone. "He's already at the dorms. Come with me?"

"Sure. But I was about to tell you I have these." Allen took his wallet and pulled out four rectangular pieces of paper. Lenalee looked confused for a bit, "It's free movie tickets I got from my part-time job. It's only limited to movies by Kolombia Pictures but would you like to come with me later?"

Lenalee blinked twice at the pieces of paper before smiling kindly at him, "Of course! But, there are two more. It would be a waste if—" She stopped all of a sudden and somehow, it scared Allen, because he knew she had something mischievous currently processing in her head. "Allen, can you give me those two extra tickets?"

"Uh.. sure. Who're you gonna give it to?" he asked, handing over the tickets to the girl.

"I have an idea."

* * *

For the whole day, they both stayed there. Lavi, for the most part, slept half the day after he had taken a bath and had been forced to eat none other than Japanese food. Kanda, on the other hand, took the free time as an advantage to clear his mind and study, although it was announced there was no classes the next day in preparation for some kind of program. Kanda was too tired to hear the words correctly when it was announced, but it had something to do with music. The boy thought that it was funny how everybody outside the school thought the curriculum was too strict. What they didn't know was the Supervisor was as lazy as the student body and often announced suspension of classes whenever he felt like suspending classes for the day. The Principal did nothing about it, sadly.

It was then an elephant was born inside the room. The atmosphere became so darn heavy as soon as Lavi woke up to see a sitting Kanda looking at him from across the room like he was the most interesting thing in the world. Kanda, in reflex, immediately looked in another direction which didn't help Lavi's growing suspicion. It was silent for awhile and none of them made a sound nor any abrupt movements. They were awkward again. Lavi sat up on the bed, reaching out for his bag to get his phone. Kanda watched him from the corner of his eyes and saw him texting to somebody. Kanda couldn't express the utter relief when he heard a soft knocking on the door.

"I'm coming in!" the girl outside said before she entered the room. She saw Kanda's relieved expression change when another figure emerged from behind her.

"What is that _thing_ doing here?" the man spat out, not noticing Lenalee who comfortably sat herself in one of the wooden chair in the corner of the room.

"Oh gee, thanks for the warm welcome." Allen spat out in return with sheer sarcasm. They exchanged glares until Lenalee spoke.

"Lavi, it's nice to see you doing okay!" Her voice was too cheerful, and it again, somehow scared the remaining three people in the room. "Did you know Kanda was _so_ worried about you earlier! The way he told me about you seemed like you were dying!"

"I-I—!" Kanda started to retort, but no words came his way. All the heat that travelled to his cheeks must had blocked his thinking process. Lenalee inwardly snickered as she could both see the priceless faces of the two surprised men. Kanda could literally hear Lenalee's thoughts screaming _just as planned_. Allen could only raise a brow, again being the secluded one in the group. He felt the three of them had something going on, and he wished he knew but he wanted to wait until Lenalee told him herself. Lavi had some sort of hope flashing through his head and wondered if it was true. He looked at Kanda to see what his expression was, but he was way too uncomfortable to do so.

"I-I'm fine now, really. I got a little carried away last night." Lavi said with a nervous fake laugh, his head bowed down so that his red hair could hide his also rather red face. He sat up from his bed, shaking his head before looking at Lenalee. "I-I'm just.. uh.. gonna buy a drink downstairs."

"Take your time!" Lenalee spoke, a little too loudly she presumed when Allen looked at her oddly. Lenalee slowly, a little too slowly, turned her head to Allen who still wore that odd-looking expression. Allen's eye twitched and for some reason, he knew that Lenalee wanted him to go outside too. How he could read that from Lenalee's mind was a mystery.

"Uh.. M-me too! Just gonna get a drink." Allen said along with a few series of panicky chuckles. Lenalee smiled at him and told him the same words she said to Lavi, "Take your time."

As soon as the door closed for the second time, Kanda immediately stood up and half-whispered, "What the hell are you thinking?"

"Trying to help you!"

"That does _not _help." The remaining boy in the room said, "It won't work, whatever you do. He was practically drowning in both alcohol and.. and.. _women_ last night." He said in almost sheer disgust.

"How sure were you?"

"His buddies told me, and Daisya too. It was like he was protecting the idiot's image and shit." He let out a frustrated sigh, "Just forget about it already. This isn't going to work out anyway."

The girl gasped silently to herself. She was scared he would give up. She wanted to tell them about how the other likes the other as well, but the chances of them believing her was a mere zero percent. And if it's that way, it would probably result in something bad. It would also be better if they found out by themselves. She thought she could count on Lavi to have the guts to be the first one to confess, but he only left her falsely optimistic. None of them was confident enough was the main problem.

"Kanda-kun," she called his attention. "Maybe you'd like to clear your mind off some certain things? You can go to the movies with me! Allen's coming too, if you don't mind, since he gave me the tickets after all." Kanda didn't speak. She added kindly, "I won't tell Lavi if you want."

"…"

"So?"

"Fine. When?" he sighed with surrender.

"Anytime would be great. But sometime later would be much better! I really wanted to see that new movie; _Lunar Moon._ I've been wanting to see that ever since I saw the trailer months ago! And—"

"I get it. I get it. You're talking too much."

"Lovely! Meet me at Starbucks near the train station at seven! We're going to take a train to the Southcott Cinemas. I want to catch the last full show. Okay?" She said with a smile as she stood up from her seat, dusted off non-existent dirt on her skirt and picked up her mint green handbag.

"Leaving already?"

"Yep. I just wanted to check up on you two. See ya later at the movies!" Lenalee told him, as she bid a goodbye, waving her hand softly as she left for the door. When she got out, she stumbled upon the two who went for a drink.

"Lenalee?" Allen said confused as he held two cans of carbonated drink in his hands. He offered one to her as she muttered words of thanks.

Lavi looked down at the girl and asked, "Leaving already?"

Lenalee let out a single soft laugh, amused that the two of them said that same thing. "Yeah. Sorry I couldn't stay longer than usual." Her eyes travelled to Lavi's hands; his right holding an opened rootbeer and the other one holding a bottle of iced green tea. She smiled lightly to herself.

"Come on, Allen. Let's go." She said as she started to walk past Lavi. The redhead watched her as the white-haired boy followed her like a puppy, turning back to him to wave his hand goodbye. His eye widened slightly when he noticed the girl stopped her tracks and turned around with a wide grin.

"Go get him, tiger!" Lavi instantly knew what she meant. But the confused look on Allen's face was hilarious to him. He had been confused ever since he had met him. Lavi assumed that his lady friend hadn't told the clueless boy yet. Thank god.

* * *

Kanda started to prepare when the clock hit six. Relieved that Lavi had to go out before him, for reasons he had not mentioned and just grabbed a jacket and ran off, he had escaped in thinking of an excuse to go to the movies. The plan was not to let him know. Although Kanda had been annoyed when Lenalee told him that the beansprout was coming, he was optimistic enough to say that it would be better rather than having Lavi to come with them. If that would have happened, he would be in such a twitchfest and would be awkward to talk and move all night.

Though Kanda had no clue what they were going to watch, he still wanted to go as long as it was away from the redhead. _Lunar Moon_ as he heard it, he faintly remembered the trailer he saw on television; something about vampires or something. He couldn't quite remember but he ridiculously assumed that it was a horror film they were going to watch.

Southcott Cinemas. He thought again. He wondered why Lenalee chose such a distant place just to watch a movie. He had heard from both Lavi and Lenalee that the Southcott place was an expensive movie theater so he assumed Lenalee was just trying to take advantage of the opportunity, with the free tickets and all. He was fine going to that certain cinema, what he was uneasy of was the train ride towards the place. The train was always packed with people. But what he hated the most about trains was the constant pushing and squeezing. He once had to ride it and he almost couldn't breathe inside the small space. He just hoped that there would be less people when they get there that day.

He looked at the clock again and noticed that he had already spent thirty minutes. Grabbing a rather thin beige trenchcoat, he locked the doorknob before going out to close it.

* * *

_To: Kanda  
From: Lenalee  
Subject: Hi!_

_Message:  
We're here! I'm inside the café near the huge potted plant!  
You'll be quite happy when you get there! (^o^)/ xoxo_

After he had arrived in front of the cafe, he received a text from Lenalee, saying where she was. Quite unsure of the _you'll be quite happy_ part, he shrugged it off and walked inside the café. It was huge, he thought as he scanned the place, and probably the largest Starbucks he had ever seen. There was even stairs at the side to go up another floor. The large room gave off an almost hypnotizing smell of coffee beans. It was hard to look for people, since it was so busy, crowded and unusually dim. He looked for a huge potted plant and spotted the only one in the farthest corner of the room. Indeed, it was big enough to conceal the figure of Lenalee. Kanda walked towards it and was expecting to find a girl with pigtails and a boy who looked like an old man. Approaching the table, his tracks stopped. And his heart was thumping hard enough to burst out of his chest.

What he saw behind that darn plant was a figure of a man. No one else was with him. There was no pigtails, no white hair. But that didn't surprised him. What surprised him was the color of the figure's hair.

Red.

Bright, annoying, vivid red.

With an eyepatch.

He was about to turn around and quickly leave when the figure turned around slowly with an expression the same as his.

"Yu.. What are you doing here..?"

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: You're probably mad at me again ;_;**

**Notes; Southcott is the name of the condominium I live in. Now you know.**

**Expect another long update since school is being a bitch again..**

**Thanks for the loving support, everyone! Really!  
**

**Reviews, flames, comments, questions, answers, advertisements, cookies, pink llamas, etc. Anything is welcome! Everything is appreciated!  
**

**Also, bonus cookies to those who knew what I was referencing _Lunar Moon_ to~! Whatever it is, I loathe it. But my sis likes it.. and I'm ashamed to say that she owns four hardbounds books of it. I read the first and the last.. why did I do that? ;_;**

**I don't own DGM! :)  
**


	9. Rosaceous

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

•

* * *

**•**

**9. Rosaceous**

**•**

* * *

Coffee wasn't exactly a very fascinating thing to look at, but for Yu Kanda and Lavi, it had become such a great distraction. Minutes had passed by quickly and they sat there, silence prevailing incessantly. Lenalee had already sent both of them a text message saying that she was not coming and even wished them luck. Just from the text they could imagine her snickering evilly, a look of triumph on her face. Neither of the two knew that they had received the same text message and shrugged the subject off quickly. Neither of them also mentioned when they received another text message consisting only of a relatively impressing image of a rabbit and a cat kissing made by a series of basic symbols of parentheses, slashes, periods and dashes. It became truly embarrassing when the words _Lavi_ and _Yu_ were written on the bottom. They deleted the SMS at once.

Lenalee had become such an important woman to the both of them that they had never once thought of disliking her, much less hating her. She used to be such a sweet girl who was too shy to socialize with people. But, not less than two years, she soon grew comfortable to everyone, maybe _too_ comfortable. She became a lively young girl, who started meddling too much. Her small clever plans were usually tolerable, but recently they had become rather troublesome. They barely cared for her childish schemes and unvarying prying before but they were beginning to realize that it had become quite a problem especially since her schemes were now for the both of them.

After the unanticipated reunion, the mutually self-conscious boys said nothing but a few words to each other; a share of surprised shy greetings, a sequence of uncoordinated questions and a long cycle of silence. Lavi, making an effort to be _the_ gentleman, offered to buy coffee. Kanda had absolutely no idea on how much willpower and confidence Lavi had to actually build up before he could even ask a simple question of what kind of coffee he would like. He nodded silently as Lavi stood up from his seat in the most unsuspicious way he could manage, resulting to his foot painfully hitting the heavy wooden chair as he muttered a string of curses.

With that, they ended up sitting in front of each other in complete silence, inside a crowded café, while they both busied themselves by looking at a cup of indisputably expensive coffee. Lavi never really understood why the coffee there was so expensive while they can just get a cup of coffee made by the same Arabica beans in McDonald's for only one pounds and thirty pence.

"So.." Lavi started, rubbing his palms against the hot cup for warmth, his eyes examining at every little detail of the brown liquid. "Should, uh, we get going? Or are we going to wait for a while?"

Kanda took a long sip from his cup that Lavi thought he ignored him completely. But Kanda raised his head and looked at him. "I don't know. You decide."

"Uh.. okay. Then, I.." the redhead paused as he swallowed the last remaining coffee from his mug and continued with more enthusiasm than earlier, "Let's go!" He stood up again and grabbed his jacket when he noticed Kanda's still partially filled cup.

"Ah—sorry, you can finish drinking first—"

"No." Kanda said in a half-annoyed tone, "I can finish this along the way. Let's get going."

"A-Are you sure? We're going by train and—"

"Just shut up and go."

"Y-Yes, sir." Almost like a puppy, Lavi quickly obeyed and followed him. As soon as they stepped outside, an incessant chilly wind blew through the metropolitan London streets. Kanda shivered slightly and Lavi couldn't describe how he desperately wanted to put a jacket over him.

With well-built courage, Lavi spoke, "If! If.. If you want—"

"Hold this." Kanda interrupted, handing him over his coffee cup. Lavi blinked at him twice before grabbing it as he afterwards watched his friend put on his sheer dark coat. The redhead eyed him for a second and wondered how a coat like that can even keep a human warm while he looked at his own jacket, which was probably three times thicker than the Japanese man's coat. Still, he had that unwavering urge to offer him his jacket, since he wasn't cold as the other one was. Kanda gestured his coffee back and Lavi quickly obliged.

"Where to?" Kanda asked. He knew precisely where to go since it wasn't exactly his first time in town. But he had this embarrassing need to rely on Lavi and he felt utterly emasculated for that certain unconscious reason.

"Train station, I guess, we should be taking the line that heads to Upper Lyndbury or Harrisvale, then a bus ride to the theater." Lavi answered in an indecisive tone, scratching his head in uncertainty as he tried remembering all the stations.

"I hate buses." Kanda strictly stated as he took a sip of his coffee, waiting for Lavi's decision. Kanda was fairly impressed that the man actually bothered to memorize nearly half the stations in London while he could only remember one or two.

"O-_kay_, we'll take a cab." Lavi said in a convincing manner. He loved those red tall buses and had no idea why Kanda would loathe it. But then again, it was Kanda he was talking about.

Lavi interpreted Kanda's deep relieved sigh as an OK and headed for the railway. Noticing that he walked too fast, he slowed his pace, giving the black-haired man time to catch up with his unfinished and awfully expensive coffee. When Lavi saw him walking beside him, a smile unconsciously found its way to his lips when he felt a light feeling of butterflies inside his stomach—though he could just convince himself that it was just stomach acid from his coffee—nonetheless, he felt simply happy.

The overground railway was different from back when Lavi last came there. He couldn't quite tell how, but he did notice the increase of people and the new look the place held. It took nearly half an hour before the redhead could buy the tickets since the line was as long as the train itself. Kanda was not a very patient person to begin with and just seeing length of the line made his left eye twitch; for that reason, he made Lavi line up instead as he waited in one corner.

When Lavi was done and headed where Kanda was waiting, the man had already thrown out his cup of coffee and was texting someone in his mobile phone. He held a perplexing look as he pressed his fingers on the keys in a slightly violent manner.

"Got the tickets." Lavi said brashly, seeking to get the other man's attention. "Who're ya texting?"

Kanda tilted his head to the side, "L-Lenalee."

"Huh. What'd she say?"

"Nothing important. Let's get going." Kanda said in a hurry as he flipped his phone closed and kept it at one of his coat's side pockets.

Then they were at the platform area, where countless people waited. Lavi thought it was a bit more crowded than usual, considering it was a hectic weekday. More minutes had passed and it seemed like the people doubled. Lavi could sense the growing irritation from his companion's face. A loud bell-like sound soon echoed through the area as the train appeared and stopped.

People rushed violently inside, trying to get seats so they would not end up standing. Kanda went inside composedly, as well as Lavi, barely interested to get a seat and would not mind standing up. Lavi, noticing the very last railcar was less crowded, beckoned Kanda to follow him as they squeezed through the large crowd and straight to the last passenger coach of the train. Once there, Kanda made himself comfortable by resting his back on a wall, grabbing a handle to balance himself and let out a tired sigh. Lavi positioned in front of him, gripping only the handles for balance.

"Wow, it's been a while since we last rode a train." Lavi sighed heavily as he took one step backward when he noticed that he was too close to Kanda given that the train started to move and the railcar started to get shaky.

"I hate trains." Kanda complained again as his breathing went faster than usual.

"You _hate_ everything." The redhead teased harmlessly. His smile withdrew when Kanda threw him an irritated glare.

"We should have just taken a cab."

"Taxis are expensive. And we, may I mention, are in the brink of poverty. We need to be a little cautious."

"If we're being that fucking _economical_, why did we have lamb for dinner last Monday? Lamb isn't cheap."

"Well, I tried running over a squirrel that night, but those bastards are fast like fuck I tell ya."

The taller man only chuckled when he caught a glimpse of Kanda rolling his eyes and pursing his lips in sheer aggravation. He had decided to lay off the jokes when Kanda looked at him with narrow annoyed eyes and when he was given a punch in the gut.

"Tch. Then why did we have to go all the way to the upper town just to watch a movie?"

"These are _free_ tickets. We couldn't even afford to go to an average theater." He paused, the train slowly halting to a station. "I've only been to Southcott once, too."

"Haven't you—" Kanda was cut off shortly when another mass of people squeezed in inside the train, forcing Lavi to take a few steps closer. Both men noticed this and Lavi regretted his chosen spot and suddenly wanted to change his position but found out that he couldn't since there were too many people constricting him.

It was then their hearts started to pound faster. It became very difficult for them to move about, much less breathe. They were beginning to panic, seeing that none of the two was able to stop the increasing pounding of their chests, and they were scared, thinking it would be too suspicious. The sounds coming from their chests were so loud they could nearly hear it, oblivious to the fact that it was both their throbbing hearts merging with each other.

The train abruptly moved again causing Lavi to stumble forward. By reflex, he lost his grip on the handles and smacked his bended arms against the wall. Kanda let out a silent gasp and his dark blue eyes widened seeing that Lavi's bended arms were now on the either side of Kanda's head.

Shifting slightly, Lavi stuttered, his voice filled with both anxiety and concern, "S-Sorry, a-a-are you alright? I mean—uh—well, I ain't l-leaning t-too hard on you, uh, aren't I?" He didn't look at him while he spoke. Instead, he stared at one side and attempted to distract himself by looking outside the window.

Kanda, on the other hand, was in a state of extreme shock that he couldn't find himself able to speak. He blamed the temperature for his blushing face. All the heat from his body seemed like it had all traveled to his face which was now undeniably red in color, resembling a blooming rose. Lavi asked him again if he was alright. He replied to this by lowering his head and nodding slightly to avoid eye contact and to hide his reddening face.

Lavi seemed to tame his hummingbird heartbeat to some extent as his chest began to calm down and his breathing slowed. It wasn't the same for Kanda though. For someone who was not experienced with any kind of emotions—except, maybe, anger and bloodlust—he found it hard to relax. His heart quickened its pace and his breathing became ragged. His body was stiff and he could hardly take in air due to the heat, the small space, and the very close proximity he and Lavi were sharing. The redhead noticed this and was filled with worry.

"Yu? Are you alright? You look all flushed." Lavi asked again in a low voice. He attempted to step back a little to give Kanda more space as he tried to reach for the handles again but to no avail. It became extremely jammed inside and he had become afraid whenever the train stops again for another station.

"I-I-I'm fine. Just.." Kanda stammered, his head still locked at looking down at his feet. He stiffly placed his palms against Lavi's chest, attempting to push him back softly, "..b-back away.. a l-little bit."

Lavi would totally love to do what Kanda had asked, but sadly, he was incapable of doing so. He could hardly move. He cursed under his breath. The man thought that the person he locked between his arms was hyperventilating due to the lack of space which, obviously enough, worried him through and through. He just hoped that the passenger coach would empty a bit at the next station. But alas, they were in bad luck as the redhead cursed again at the additional group of people that stampeded inside.

'_Can't they see they can't fuckin' fit anymore? Go wait for the next damn train!_' Lavi grumbled inside his head as he turned his head to Kanda, who was still in that same uncomfortable position, and sighed exasperatedly.

"Yu. I'm apologizing in advance." Lavi whispered with a nervous laugh, making Kanda look up at him with increasing nervousness. As if on cue, Lavi was pushed by the newly-arrived mass of people as his feet stumbled forward.

Loud thumping resonated inside the small area as the automatic train doors closed and the city sounds coming from the outside muted. The two men were now looking directly at each other, their faces merely an inch apart, breathing in what the other breathes out. When they realized how close they were, their heads swiftly turned to their sides. Lavi looked at his left where he struggled to keep his eyes on a book a stranger was holding. Their faces were insanely tinted with crimson as they could, at that moment, feel each other's torso and body heat.

The insides of the train had air-conditioning, yet heat clouded between them as Lavi could feel sweat forming on his scalp. His neck became painfully stiff by looking at his side but held enough strength to keep it that way. The one-eyed man had no idea what to feel; he was nervous yet he had an overwhelming feeling of delight. He practically enveloped the man he had fallen in love with into an embrace. Lavi was aware that his heart was banging rather loudly due to this but he didn't know that the heart of the man he was holding had the same behavior.

Lavi was the first person Kanda held great feelings for and that certain person was also, strangely, a man, and a terrible Casanova as well. It was unsettling how he could feel Lavi so close to him. There were a lot of things that were unsettling but it was mostly the torturous body contact and viable intimacy. He couldn't believe he was right in front of him, practically wrapped in his arms. Even a genius could not describe how inexplicably tense he was at the moment. Kanda slowly turned his head back to the redhead who was still scrutinizing things in his current line of vision.

Lavi was only two centimeters taller than him, he remembered. Before, Kanda underestimated the small gap and proclaimed it didn't make much of a difference, but now that they were in their current situation, he realized how wrong he was. By that time, Kanda had already lost his grip on one of the train handles when the redhead basically shoved him against the wall. And he cursed at this, because he lost his balance aid and the train kept on shaking as it moved. He was pushed forward by the brusqueness of the train, pressing on to Lavi fervently.

Lavi noticed his friend was struggling to keep his stability. With a small amount of sympathy, he ordered sternly, "Hold on to me."

Kanda sensed the dominating tone and attempted a spiteful glare at him but was surprised when the taller man held such an out-of-character face. He repeated, but slightly softer, "Hold on to me."

The constricted man didn't say anything and gave in to his offer. He pinched a small portion of Lavi's jacket as Lavi gave a small childish laugh. "You seriously think that would help you keep your balance?"

"S-Shut the fuck up." The dark-haired man growled angrily and his hands, with force, clutched Lavi's jacket much more firmly. He found himself breathing unsteadily again.

"Don't worry, only two stations more."

Kanda would've sighed with relief but the lack of oxygen made it quite a difficult task. Breathing was already a difficulty. Lavi inhaled deeply to sigh and was able to smell Kanda's rather addicting scent. Instead of a sigh, he choked. They passed by a station, then another until they finally reached their stop. The train decelerated slowly as it prepared to a halt.

Lavi, with strong fortitude, said humorlessly, "Hold my hand."

Kanda was starting to hate the redhead's gradual audacity and intimacy which he had primarily thought was a joke, but his face showed otherwise. He didn't comply. He released his clasp from his jacket in an annoyed manner and merely scoffed at him. When the train halted completely and the doors opened, the people rashly charged outside. Lavi let out a sigh before taking the initiative to grab Kanda's hand and pull him towards the exit, squeezing in through the mad amounts of people. And finally, as they both thanked God they were out of that doomtrain, they heaved their biggest sigh that day.

On the platform, Kanda was nearly panting like he had sprinted in a marathon. Lavi took off his thick jacket, letting the heat evaporate. His attention turned to the worn out Kanda whose usually pale face looked quite red. Again, for the millionth time, he asked if he was alright.

"Do I _look_ fucking alright?" he replied.

"N-No." Lavi replied meekly, scared of being glared at again. He had always been scared whenever Kanda glower at him. When the long-haired man released one last groan, he walked towards the stairs as the other one followed.

While walking, Lavi put on his usual smile and spoke, "Bus or cab?"

"Cab." Kanda quickly answered.

"Ya sure? Buses are cheaper. And I haven't ridden that red thing for quite a while." Lavi persisted, shoving his hands in his pockets when he felt the London chill coming back.

"I had enough of crowded places today. With a taxi—"

"—it's just the two of us?" Kanda suddenly stopped with his tracks, a little affected by the innocuous words and his cheeks turned rose-colored. When Lavi realized what he had just said, his face turned the same hue as Kanda's. "I mean, yeah, fine, let's take a cab."

The taxi ride was quiet and they didn't say anything other than Lavi talking to the driver where they were heading. The ride seemed like an hour yet it lasted for merely minutes. It was already quarter to eight in the evening when they had arrived at the movie theater.

* * *

The building was made with an elaborate and eccentric structure filled with excessively bright lights outlining it. Kanda glared at it like it was some kind of criminal as Lavi watched him, smiling inwardly at his friend's reaction. The redhead walked ahead but not before extending a hand to Kanda who, in return, scowled at the hand and raised a questioning brow.

"Don't ya want to hold hands?" Lavi asked with a childish grin printed on his face.

Heat ascended to the sides of his face, "Move it, you stupid rabbit." Kanda angrily hissed, pushing Lavi aside rather aggressively. Lavi was surely a little hurt, but he was used to Kanda's sadistic actions that he couldn't help but lightheartedly smile at the matter.

He stood still on his position and observed Kanda who was storming off through the foyer and towards the ticket booth. He laughed to himself, thinking the ill-tempered man's actions were rather adorable. Seeing the line was a bit long, but definitely not as long as the one they encountered at the station, Lavi headed to the snack bar.

The Japanese rolled his eyes. When he had scanned the movie listings and had watched the short trailers in a small LCD screen behind the female receptionist, he had come to a conclusion that everything was simply awful. Apparently, _Lunar Moon_, at what he thought was a horror movie, was actually a sappy chick flick about vampires who, according to the teenage girls behind him, glittered. _Allen in Walkland_ would've been a fairly good choice but it seriously reminded Kanda of Lenalee's beansprout of a friend and automatically crossed it from the list. _Prince of Eurasia_ looked lame and _The Wu-shu Kid_ seemed too low-budgeted remake. As for the other movies, Kanda thought, just plain sucked by the title alone. After deciding, he gave their free passes to the lady and in an instant, handed him two tickets for without charge, though not entirely tax-free.

Kanda had already gotten the tickets when Lavi returned with a large box of cheesy popcorn. "You didn't even ask me what movie I wanted!" The taller man exclaimed, eyeing the two pieces of paper in his hands as he chucked a handful of popcorn to his mouth.

"Everything's shit. This one's the only thing tolerable." He showed the tickets to Lavi. The redhead's eye widened.

"_Supernatural Activity_? I actually wanted to see this. Heard they only used less than ten thousand bucks for this but it was a huge hit." Lavi exclaimed, looking at the rectangular pieces of paper like it was some kind of winning lottery tickets. He added, "But goddamn, twenty-_fucking_-pounds for a movie? Thank god for these tickets."

"So, what's this supernatural shit about?"

"Uh, it's some kind of based on true events and stuff, a kinda-fake documentary-styled film about two brothers hunting demons with their angel friend and stopping the apocalypse."

"Are you fucking_ serious_?"

"It sounds better than what I just said. Trust me, you'll like it." Lavi sounded compelling but Kanda had a feeling he could trust him. For one thing, Lavi had always possessed a great taste for movies. The redhead continued, "You were always interested in these demon and exorcism stuff, right?"

Well, Kanda couldn't completely say that he was lying. Lavi was fascinated by it as well and Kanda remembered how they used to go to the school's century-old library to read about it when they were young. The school's library, oddly enough, seemed to have had a lot of books about exorcism and evil spirits that dated back to the 19th century.

"Fine. But before you enter the cinema, throw that popcorn out and get a buttered one. I don't like cheese."

* * *

"Shouldn't we hide in a better place?"

Allen Walker's day was not what he had expected. He planned the both he and Lenalee would eat at a nice food chain at the afternoon and go to the movies as early at six. But Lenalee was an unpredictable interventionist extraordinaire thus Allen's schedule quickly turned into dust as soon as they left the campus and headed to the city.

The girl was stalking her two friends for quite some time now and he still didn't know why she was doing it and when she would stop. He just couldn't understand women at all.

"Shh!" The girl hushed, putting a finger against her lips. "Keep your voice down!"

"Uh, Lenalee? I don't think our disguises are working because people are looking at us." Allen informed and looked around, "And not in a good way." He turned his head to the people who were indeed staring at them suspiciously. Who wouldn't? There was a pretty girl dressed up as a stereotypical Sherlock Holmes and a young boy, coincidentally enough, dressed up like Watson hiding behind a hotdog kiosk.

"Really? I think we look cute."

Allen couldn't quite pinpoint what her idea of cute meant. He had on a synthetic brown mustache which didn't go with his white hair at all. "That's really not the point here."

Lenalee pouted at him. "I like to investigate in _style_."

"_Investigate_?" Allen questioned incredulously and only gave a forced smile. Stalk was a better word in his opinion.

Lenalee ignored her friend and afterwards gasped in surprise when she saw her two friends get on an escalator towards the cinemas. She spun her head to Allen, who gulped nervously.

"Which movie did they pick?"

"I... have no idea."

"It can't be helped. Go to the counter and ask what movie they chose."

"B-But—"

"Fine. I'll do it." Lenalee inhaled deeply and stood up from her crouching position and dashed towards the counter. She cut through the line unthinkingly with a determined face. "Excuse me, miss? Do you know a guy who just bought tickets here with black hair?"

The lady curiously eyed the Chinese girl dolled up as an English detective before putting on an apologetic expression, "Sorry, but there had been a lot of black-haired men here—"

"You can't possibly miss him, he's—!"

"Lenalee." Allen cut off, displaying a fake gentleman face, placing his hand on Lenalee's shoulder, "Let me handle this."

"Allen?"

He graciously turned his head to the lady behind the counter who was already creeped out by the two teenagers dressed up as clichéd English detectives. "Perhaps you have seen a preposterously homosexual chap with long black hair who always looks constipated? He was with a ginger with an eyepatch. Do you remember what movie they selected?"

The lady blushed slightly, charmed by the white-haired boy's appeal. Lenalee was impressed by Allen's ability to forge a professional tongue as her dark eyes widened. She thought he was the perfect right-hand man for her and smirked ingeniously. A perfect Watson for a Sherlock Holmes.

"_S-Supernatural Activity._" The lady behind the counter stammered.

"Splendid. Two tickets for _Supernatural __Activity_ please. Also, we have these free passes if you don't mind."

* * *

The cinema was remarkably huge, as expected from a high-class theater. It was a large auditorium with stadium-styled seats. The screen was larger than the average mall cinema and there were large wall-mounted speakers on both the ceiling and the walls. Lavi sat on the seats that were near the screen, much to Kanda's objection. All throughout, he was silent and was as stiff as a rock, feeling Kanda's arms adjacent.

He didn't know why, but Lavi felt like they were being watched throughout the movie. He shrugged it off, thinking to himself that he was just being too paranoid. The show had already started when Lenalee and Allen went inside and seated themselves a few rows behind where Lavi and Kanda were sitting comfortably at. Since it was a horror movie, screams could not be , mostly coming from the female part of the audience, were frequent. Even Lavi, at some scenes, was surprised and let out a loud '_holy shit'_. There was a point when Lavi accidentally brushed his hand against Kanda's while they were trying to reach for popcorn. The two grew a little awkward since then. But what concerned Lavi the most was when he heard a muffled squeal coming from behind them when it happened. The redhead looked to his backside but found no one.

Obviously, it was Lenalee and she was lucky that Allen was there to cover her mouth. They had to crouch down on the floor to hide. Allen really felt like Doctor Watson at that time, always compelled to save dear Holmes—which was Lenalee at this point—whenever he was in a pinch.

After the movie had ended and the mood set in with lights, the two men stood up to leave. Lavi was surprised when Kanda remarked on how the movie was '_bearable_' and '_provocative_'. It was shocking to hear that from a man who he rarely comments on movies—or anything for that matter. He was also surprised that he actually knew what the word _provocative _means.

Lenalee and Allen had to wait before the lovebirds leave to go outside. The young woman eyed the two as they headed towards the exit, talking as they walk.

Back at the foyer, Lavi didn't pay much attention how the receptionist stared at them strangely but was greatly disturbed by it when she was still eyeing them several minutes later. He looked at his watch. It was already ten and past their curfew, they'd be dead if Bookman or Tiedoll knew about this. He already planned to blame their ladyfriend.

The two stalke—detectives, on the other hand, didn't stop following them. By that time, they had mysteriously obtained binoculars.

"Wanna go back?" Kanda nodded in reply. Lavi looked at his watch again, "We could still eat at some place. I'm starving and I'm pretty sure there's nothing to eat back in the dorm."

Honestly, Lavi was pretty much bummed that the day was over with not much progress on his part. He wasn't even certain yet if he wanted to charm his way through Kanda's heart. But certain or not certain, he wouldn't want to waste the opportunity Lenalee had forcibly given him. Maybe a few more hours in a restaurant with a romantic ambience would be plenty enough to make Lavi confess or whatever.

"Do what you want." Kanda said tiredly, as he began to walk towards the exit, "I'm going home."

Shit. So much for a few hours.

"Oh, come on. You're not really gonna leave me aren't ya?" Lavi thought he was joking, but Kanda never joked in his whole life. "I'm going to a fancy Italian restaurant?" Lavi attempted to persuade him with a not-so-convincing statement.

"No."

"_Clarksfort Point_?"

"Try harder."

"I know!" He shouted, "_Soba_! We'll eat lots and lots of _soba_!"

Kanda stopped walking and stood there, probably contemplating.

Eventually, Kanda gave in to the offer which Lavi knew he just couldn't refuse. They winded up in an expensive-looking Japanese restaurant, with Caucasian waitresses in oriental robes and free house tea that tasted like rainwater. Nevertheless, the place held a peaceful ambience, but not peaceful enough to be called romantic though, which Lavi was initially aiming for. Lavi had ordered _yakiniku. _Kanda, without a doubt, ordered a large bowl of _soba_. Mainly, that was enough to squander what had been left on Lavi's wallet.

They talked that evening, and it was somewhat odd because they hadn't talked like that for a long time, ever since they became aware of their feelings. It almost seemed like the awkwardness and tension between them disappeared. They exchanged comments about the weather, the movie they had just watched, television, sports, school, food and a lot of other subjects they never talked about before. They even got into a heated conversation about demons and devils. After that had eaten, Kanda suddenly had an urge to order _yakisoba_ next when Lavi joked that it was a mixture of _yakiniku_ and _soba_, their two favorite dishes.

Meanwhile, outside the bistro, Lenalee couldn't be any happier. She had been standing outside the restaurant with Allen, peeking through the large glass windows with binoculars which Allen skillfully acquired at the arcades back in Southcott.

"Lenalee, it's already late and I doubt those two would go back soon." Allen's worry-filled voice spoke as he watched the two having a good time. He sort of felt dejected. After all, he had wanted to spend time like that with the girl currently beside him. Lenalee saw this and looked at him with a satisfied expression, a face saying that everything would be alright. Allen slightly blushed, but he could also be blushing due to the cold.

She smiled at him, "Thank you for coming with me. I promise I'll tell everything… uh, _soon_."

He politely beamed back at her and chuckled, "Come on, Holmes." He teased as he put on his Watson hat over the girl's slightly smaller head. "Let's go back."

"No." She said. Allen's silver eyes widened, pretty much amazed of the girl's persistence.

"What?"

The girl looked up at him with bright eyes and beamed at him, "But I'm still hungry, my dear Watson! Come and take me to a nice restaurant!"

Allen took a few moments to blink before letting out a hearty chuckle.

"It would be a pleasure."

* * *

When Lavi and Kanda had finished, they went back to the cold breezy streets which was still crowded even if it was almost midnight. Though Lavi didn't say anything about his feelings or much less confessed, he felt surprisingly lively and light. It was amazing how that short time in the restaurant took off the heavy weights on their shoulders. They went back to their previous relationship; no awkwardness, no stress, but the fast beating of the heart was still there and it looked like it wouldn't disappear for a while.

Again, he noticed Kanda shivering very faintly and with newly-acquired confidence and resolve, he finally had the guts to offer his jacket.

"Here." He muttered as he draped a vaguely larger jacket over Kanda's shoulders. The smaller man flushed madly and bowed his head down to hide his embarrassed expression. Kanda couldn't protest nor come up with an insult, perhaps since he couldn't think clearly as he gained comfort from the familiar warmth. Lavi, in contrast, didn't have a hint of embarrassment nor redness. Because now he was determined; he was certain.

'_I'm going to do what whatever it takes for you to love me back.'_

* * *

**A/N: Again, I have an excuse that it took so long. Busy from school and I think I'm gonna be suspended, or probably kicked out. I don't want to repeat again! ;_;**

**I kinda wrote this to keep my mind off of things.**

**New chapter's gonna be out later and I keep F5ing twitter for updates from mangastream.**

**Thanks everyone for the beautiful and wonderful reviews! You're all wonderful people who can bear my awful slow writings. I mean, it's almost two hundred! That's quite a lot for little 'ol me. You guys are AWESOME. Also, if you have questions about the story or why I'm slow or maybe I made a mistake, you can always tell me.**

**By the way, any things mentioned here are fictional. (Except maybe the customized movie titles.)**

**Just so you know, I ship Sherlock/Watson.**

**Also, I don't own DGM. Why else am I waiting for a chapter to come out?**

**P.S.**

**From now on, you will think of Lavi and Kanda when you eat yakisoba.**

**P.S.S.**

**IF YOU DON'T EAT YAKISOBA UNDER 24 HOURS YOU WILL GET DIARRHEA.**


	10. Thermonous

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

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**10. Thermonous  
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* * *

It was eight in the morning when Allen Walker stood up from his seat, took a deep breath and recited a well-memorized verse from a poem. Literature wasn't his forte, he didn't like it either, but he could proudly say that he was remarkably good at it. He could see the impressed eyes of his teacher. In the midst of his enthusiasm, a knock on their classroom door was heard. It opened and a student appeared.

"Allen Walker?" he inquired, searching around the whole class. The teacher turned to the mentioned student, who was already standing up. "The Supervisor wished to talk to him."

Among the students in the class was Lenalee, who started to feel an ominous intuition, wondering why her brother would want to summon Allen. She had a vague idea, though. Allen only blinked, foolishly assuming that it had something to do with incomplete papers or requirements.

Komui, the Supervisor of the school and Lenalee's older brother, was waiting in his office, calm and seated, with his brows knitted as if he was in his deepest thoughts, his glasses covering his eyes. His expression was not visible behind the glasses.

It scared him for a while. Allen swallowed, nervous, and said, "Supervisor, you called for me?"

"Ah, yes, yes," Komui replied, crossing his hands beneath his chin. "I would just like to ask a few questions."

The boy's primary assumptions had something to do with his background or his transfer papers, so he just politely nodded. Allen sat down in front of him when Komui gestured the suggestion. The boy did as he was told. He moved around the chair, feeling a little restless.

Komui let out a big sigh. "Where were you the night before?"

Allen's glass eyes enlarged with shock, the man throwing him an unexpected question. He opened his mouth to speak, trying his best not to stutter, "I…I was out…in the c-city."

"With whom, may I ask?" His tone was beginning to turn menacing.

"W-With… Lenalee." He was telling the truth and it didn't take long before he realized where the conversation was being led.

"What did you do with her?"

Allen paused. He couldn't say that they were out stalking her friends. He wasn't good at lying and he cursed at himself for being unprepared. He knew from the back of his mind that the crazy man called him to talk about his sister. It was always about his sister.

The white-haired boy felt like he was on the edge of a cliff. He said, "We went to the cinema, watched a film, and ate at a restaurant."

Komui sat up more uprightly. "Which theater did you go to?"

"Southcott." the sophomore replied.

Komui nodded very lightly, indicating he was listening. "I see. What movie did you watch?"

"Supernatural Activity," He said. Allen felt that he answered too quickly.

"Why did you have to go all the way to Southcott?"

"I had free passes. I took the liberty of going to an expensive cinema. I took advantage of it."

Komui's head raised, his eyes glimmering with danger. Komui asked, "What did you say?"

"I-I said I had tickets…and took advantage—"

"Aha!" Komui suddenly stood up, pointing an accusing finger at the boy which made Allen jump from his seat, shock present on his face. "You were trying to take advantage of my sister!"

"N-N-No! That's not what I said!" Allen's tone raised in a not-so-persuasive way.

Allen was resigned to the fact that he had to double his efforts to make the man listen. It frustrated him. Every word and explanation he said would go through one ear then out on the other. Komui ignored his every defense and objection. He was that type of person. Listening to other people was something his mind can never possess. Allen never thought anyone could spend their whole morning persuading a man to cancel a restraining order and a one-month suspension.

* * *

Throughout the morning, Lavi could feel the confused stares he was getting from the pair of pale blue eyes which reminded him of a cloudless sky. He was very eager to go to school that day, the first reason why Kanda should be baffled. He was never _ever_ eager to go to class. Lavi woke up before him—something which did not happen very often—fixed his bed for the first time in his dormitory life, and offered to prepare breakfast which consisted of overcooked bacon and scrambled eggs. He had never cooked breakfast before, which baffled Kanda even more. He was being way too nice and cheerful that day. Lavi had always possessed that personality; but only Kanda could comprehend if it was too much or too less.

It was during their vacant period when the class president scampered to the front of the classroom and wrote the words "Music Festival" on the board. He warned about how they only had three days left before the festival and their class had still not chosen representatives. When the brainstorming started, the whole class kicked off with prolific suggestions and complaints. Lavi listened but his thoughts drifted someplace else.

"Those who will not participate in the main event will help with decorations and groundwork. Namely, the sports clubs; basketball, football, tennis, archery, martial arts, and others will be helping in the quadrangle where the booths and stages will be installed. Others will be helping the Music Club decorate the auditorium for the main show. The Computer Club will do the technical matters and Home Economics will be in charge of provisions. If you have any questions, you can always ask your club chairman or moderator."

The chairman paused to take a breath. There were a few groans of complaint coming from the class. "Just a tip guys, don't slack off! Because many students did not participate last year, your participation will be graded this time and will heavily affect your extra-curricular grades. This goes especially to those who are relying on athletic scholarships."

The whole room suddenly stirred a commotion of disapproval. Lavi couldn't be any happier; at least all he had to do was to decorate the auditorium. He wasn't worried about his scholarship either. He was always bustling with activity every time there was a party, a fair or some sort of program occurring in the school. But he seemed to make the Music Festival an exception. Lavi thought it was sad that the Music Festival was boring to most of the students who weren't into classical music—a subject the Music Club simply adored.

His vision drifted to his right, where a very uninterested Kanda sat, looking aimlessly at the front. He, too, was relying on an athletic scholarship. But from the looks of it, he didn't seem care. He looked as if he was in deep thought, the redhead grasped. He scrutinized every movement of the dark-haired boy. Kanda didn't seem to notice his ogling. And Lavi wasn't aware that the other boy avoided looking his way on purpose.

The redhead relaxed in his seat, eyeing nothing but Kanda's slightest body language. He looked so complacent with his lips curved slightly downward, but not too much to be considered a frown. He watched how his long lashes flick enchantingly every time he blinked, how he tapped his fingers on his table out of boredom, and how he squeezed his rather chapped lips together from time to time. He then saw Kanda turn his head slowly at him. Lavi didn't look away. He wasn't scared anymore. He felt light, not having to carry a heavy load of tension. He may not have completely organized his feelings, but he was getting there. And when Lavi smiled at him in response, Kanda looked away swiftly, looking the other way. Lavi's smile changed into a disappointed scowl. What did he expect? Hell needed to freeze before Kanda would smile at anything.

"There won't be any afternoon classes today—" the class president was cut off with a series of joyful cheers of the students. He coughed. "—and for the next two days. We will be preparing for the festival."

One student raised a hand. "So, are there still clubs after school?"

"There will be no club activities until the festival is over. Your club grade will depend on your participation before and during the event! I repeat; there will be no club activities until the festival is over." The class president repeated in a loud manner, in order to gain the attention of the other students who weren't so eager to listen. Lavi was one of them, being so amused by his seatmate.

"Do we really have to go with this?" a female senior asked. She rolled her eyes with exasperation.

"Yes. Everything you do will be graded by your club chairman. We will go to our respective tasks once called. Again, if you are unsure what to do, ask your club chairman. They will assign you to different tasks. Here are the hand-outs."

* * *

Three-thirty o'clock came quietly, the afternoon glow of the sun filtering the large scope of the auditorium. Lavi glanced drearily to his surroundings as he sat on one of the boxes that were filled with frilly decorations. Everything seemed so unexciting even though there was a festival coming. He examined all of the busybodies, wondering at their strange tendency to walk around and bump into each other without even talking. He just sat there, pointlessly looking at the crowded space coexisting with an anomalous silence.

The auditorium had always exhibited a peculiar shape. It was semi-circular in contour. There were two levels. The lower floor held more rows of velvet seats. The upper floor was stacked vertically half way above the ground floor. The large blinds were open, providing the room with golden sunlight. The windows were only closed during a performance or program. Most of the time, they leave them open to allow light to pass through.

"Hey there, you lazy slacker," a girl's voice from behind said.

Lavi turned his attention to Lenalee as she walked to him. The girl stared in disbelief when the redhead replied with a sigh instead of a smile. The redhead's generally joyful, vibrant personality was nowhere to be found and she didn't need her female instincts to realize why. She trudged forward as she glided a heavy box on the floor next to the one Lavi was sitting on, and sat down charitably.

Dark amethyst eyes stared sympathetically at him. "You're a bit down today."

"I'm tired," Lavi piped out with no emotion, his gaze remaining at the distance. All the energy he had released earlier that morning vanished. And it confused him, too. "I'm tired of thinking of a way to make him… _see_ me the way I see him."

The slight raise in the girl's brow was a sign that she got the message. She hummed a single note, trying to find a good reply, but found none. Lavi sighed at this. She suddenly felt bad. Lenalee just settled comfortably on her box. She realized that she wasn't a very good adviser, starting something she didn't know how to finish.

"Let him fall in love little by little—maybe… maybe he already loves you! Who _knows_, right? Y-You won't know until you confess to him. He's probably feeling the same thing, maybe, possibly, you know… think about it," She slurred with speed, almost nonsensically. But she was saying the truth. She wanted to help them but she didn't want to do all the work. They had to deal with their circumstances themselves.

Lavi scoffed sharply. "Huh. I have more chances of getting struck by lightning than him falling in love with me just like that."

"Geez, you're so pessimistic these days," She said with an annoyed pitch.

"I just want him so bad!" He said with a rather loud voice which made a few heads turn. Lavi couldn't think of other words to perfectly describe his feelings. His features were splashed with frustration. He covered his face with his hands. "He's just so…hard to fall in love with. It's fucking killing me. Out of all the people in the world, why does it have to be him?"

Lenalee giggled at his speech. "How was last night then?"

Lavi shifted his interest to his companion, away from the students on duty. He asked, "Last night?"

"Yeah," she said, crossing her legs and smiling, "Your little date at Southcott."

His residual green eye widened with sudden realization. "I have completely forgotten that it was entirely your fault."

"Oh, you don't have to thank me." She flipped a dark pigtail flamboyantly so that it would fall on her back, her small grin brimming with accomplishment.

"Can't say I want to complain," He stopped briefly before flashing a satisfied beam. "After all, it turned out pretty damn well. Took a painful train ride to the theater, watched a movie. We ate, we got home late and took a cab home. I'm broke as fuck now but strangely, I don't care."

A peaceful smile found its way through the Chinese girl's features. She swayed her legs up and down as she replied, "I'm always glad to help."

"I know." he smiled kindly.

Staring off to the far distance where he could see students stapling something together, Lavi wondered how it would be like to be in a relationship with Kanda. He wanted him. That was his problem. It was something beyond his grasp. To be someone Kanda would be romantically interested in was the hardest goal he had ever pursued. Sometimes, he felt too untenable that he felt like giving up. There were times when he made progress and he would suddenly feel confident.

They fell silent for a while which gave Lenalee spare time to appreciate the change in Lavi's behavior. She was so used to the jolly, bad-mouthed, naughty little boy that she knew so many things about. He used to pull pranks on everybody—and when she meant 'everybody', she meant every single person he knew. She was a victim to his many pranks. But one threat from Komui stopped him almost immediately. She remembered one of the countless girlfriends of Lavi. The girl was two years older than him and Lavi was only a freshman. He had confessed a few years back he was interested with older women—it creeped the hell out of her. After a few years of analysis, she had finally figured out the pattern of Lavi's tastes. Four words: attractive (as an attractive man himself, he couldn't afford to date an unsightly girl), popular (cheerleaders and athletes, mostly), brunette (along with a few blonds every now and then), and slim (generally model-like and hour-glass shaped).

Lenalee scowled at the memories. It was sickening. But she wanted to dwell on the recent matters. It came to thought that Kanda _did_ possess four out of four in Lavi's list. He was undoubtly attractive. He was also popular and an athlete; girls visiting the Kendo practices were proof enough. He didn't have brown hair, but he was close. And she could firmly say that he had a slender body—for a man, at least.

The years made Lavi slightly, if not very much, mature. He wasn't cutting class as much as he used to and he started to be more obedient to Bookman. The only thing that worsened was his drinking habits. Unfortunately, Lavi was the type to accept any invitation to any party. He would always say, "It'd be rude not to come." His basketball buddies didn't help, seeing that they were the crazy, energetic, liberated jocks who tended to organize a party every damn night. It wasn't high school without the parties.

Interrupting her thoughts, Lenalee saw Lavi's face lit up when the members of the archery and kendo teams entered the auditorium. The once quiet room suddenly burst with greetings, laughter and voices. Excited expressions stole over the faces of the students, contrasting with a certain Kanda's lack of interest.

"Kanda," The girl called over, waving one arm. She didn't need to shout since the echoing auditorium itself already served as a microphone. The called man immediately turned to look her way and made a face only Lenalee could make out as embarrassment mingling with surprise. He looked quite hesitant to approach her, possibly due to the fact that Lavi was right beside the young woman.

On the contrary, the sight of his love interest made Lavi's mood lighten greatly. He saw Lenalee stand up when Kanda landed quietly by their side.

"I should—go," Lenalee said with an 'I'll-leave-you-two-lovebirds-alone' face. "Those garlands won't tie themselves you know."

Lavi and Kanda knew what she was trying to do. Their priceless expressions were similar and it amused the girl to no end. They then looked at each other. Lavi greeted him with a smile, tapping the box next to him with his palm, offering the seat to Kanda. When his weight settled on the box next to the redhead, he saw a glimpse of Kanda's bright blue eyes, shining clearly in the light of the setting sun. He stared almost hypnotically at him.

"So, what're you guys in Kendo have to do here?" Lavi asked. He was stopping himself from fidgeting. Talking to Kanda took so much effort for the past few days and though Lavi usually had the ability to go around that, he cursed at the cluttering thoughts mashing inside his head. He was never the type to think before speaking. But at that moment, he was becoming one.

"Nothing in particular," Kanda replied with his usual tone. He tensed when the redhead started talking and hoped his tension wouldn't show. He waited for the redhead to comment, but it was in vain. He wanted to keep talking to him, even though he knew he wouldn't talk much. Kanda was used to Lavi being the one doing all the talking. Strangely enough, he hadn't been doing that recently. And he was too arrogant to admit that he sort of missed it. He took a deep, silent breath before asking, "What about you?"

Lavi was surprised, but he certainly went on with the conversation. "The coach told us to just do whatever the Music Club says," the redhead said, scratching the back of his head.

"That sucks," he replied with a much more normal tone in his voice. He was beginning to feel at ease.

"But at least we have something to do this year," he said with a raised voice. "Last year's festival was dry as dust. I slept halfway through the entire fest. Wish they'd do something fun this year, like the rock music festivals here in the UK. That would be so awesome."

Kanda was trying his best to keep up with the conversation. He wanted to say something, he wanted to react, but he just didn't know what to say considering that was one of the rarest moments when he would actually be _willing_ to talk to Lavi. Kanda opened his mouth to speak when folks from the Music Club came in, interrupting him and his train of thoughts.

Far back on the stage, Lenalee dropped the garland she was glue-gunning and rushed over to see if Allen was there, considering she had not seen him since he was summoned by her brother. Her delicate features suddenly washed with worry when he saw the white-haired boy with his shoulders slouched, making him look exhausted. He was staggering, his lips curved deeply downward.

"Allen! What's wrong?"

"I… think I'm suspended—" he paused but only sighed afterward.

She gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "Why?"

"For going out with you."

The girl only blinked and tipped her head down, exhaling loudly. Her frail eyebrows creased apologetically as she said, "It's my brother, isn't it? Oh, it's my fault! I shouldn't have dragged you last night. I'm really sorry—"

Allen suddenly felt bad making a girl apologize. He held his hands up and said, "No! It's fine! You don't need to apologize. It was actually my fault. I shouldn't have invited you to dinner afterwards."

Lenalee's expression remained unchanged, "Oh, Allen. I promise I'll talk to my brother, see if I can do something about your suspension."

"Thank you. But you have done so much for me—"

"I insist." She cut him off by making a hand gesture of a zipper over his mouth. She then pouted at him. "And didn't I tell you to stop speaking so formally?"

"Yes. I'm trying. I'm just used to talking at that manner."

She smiled sweetly at his gentlemanly manner of speaking. It was sort of cute, especially when he subordinated it with his lovely, lovely accent. "Well, then. You better gear up for your next soldier," she whispered.

"Oh dear," Allen said with exasperated breath.

Lenalee's eyes searched for Lavi and Kanda, and found Lavi sitting lazily on the floor, stapling some kind of wreath beside platform steps. Kanda, on the other hand, was on top of an aluminum platform ladder, one next to the redhead, hanging ribbons and wreaths. The ladder wasn't that high, only having four steps and the hard top. The Music Club had probably assigned tasks to them, she presumed, since they weren't doing anything.

Her eyes ignited ardently with ideas. Allen knew her scheming glint all too well, even though he still remained uninformed of the purpose of her schemes. He sighed and shook his head. She then warned, "This could be a little dangerous. I think I'll handle this one."

Allen raised a brow at her warning. If it was dangerous, he should be the one to handle it, not her. The white-haired gentleman insisted but the pig-tailed girl refused. Lenalee strolled over to a corner where the most boxes were present. Allen only eyed her confoundedly. He immediately ran over to her when she hoisted two boxes at the same time, her feet and strong, slender legs almost losing their balance due to the heaviness. Allen was about to help her when she cried out, "No need! I have a plan."

With boxes in hand, Lenalee staggered towards Kanda's direction. First, she faked a shocked scream. Next, she pretended to slip, purposely crashing the boxes against the aluminum ladder with extreme force. The failing ladder tossed Kanda bodily toward the redhead. Lavi tried to catch the boy during the last second, but he ended up tumbling harshly to the floor, together with the smaller man. The ear-piercing sound of the heavy ladder bouncing on the floor filled the auditorium, a sound almost similar to glass shattering. Everyone turned their attention to the entangled men. The noise stopped and it was then Kanda realized he fell on someone, a strong defensive torso touching his cheekbones.

Kanda opened his eyes to see a disheveled necktie-less uniform. He only knew one man who never wore his necktie. His head slowly tilted up to look at his savior who had his arms crossed protectively over his shoulders.

"Yu!" Lavi moved about frantically, raising his upper body to sit up. He was too worried to care about their very close adjacency.

Kanda stiffened instantly, his pale face tinting with carmine. Lavi thought it was just because of the collision. It took few, fleeting moments before Lavi became aware of their indecent position. His cheeks began to look like they were sprinkled with paprika. The Japanese quickly tried to get off the redhead, but found it difficult. His elbows and knees were hit from the fall, making them red as his face. Lavi untangled himself from the other boy, raised himself and helped the other stand, pulling the injured man by the arm. His knees almost gave out. He didn't know if it was because of the sting from the fall or if it was because of the boy who was helping him.

Lenalee scampered to them, with fake anxiety, and yelled, "Oh, Kanda! Are you _alright_?"

Kanda dusted off his clothes, his veneer still enveloped with a crimson shade. He didn't say anything to the girl and instead narrowed his eyes at her with outmost suspicion. Kanda folded his right arm over his right shoulder, inspecting a growing redness on the skin of his elbows.

"Fuck."

Lavi raised his head to peer on his elbow, flashing him a worried look. "Does it hurt? I-I can take you to the clikic—uh, clinic."

"I'm… fine." Kanda bowed his head to hide his face, blushing over the offer. He managed to add, "Y-You should've caught me in a better way, you idiot!"

Lavi gave a besieged smile, secretly thinking how adorable Kanda's words were. "Yeah," he responded simply, hoping his surprise and adoration weren't all too obvious. He let out a chuckle and scratched his head. "Sorry 'bout that."

Kanda glared daggers at him. It didn't look so menacing when his face looked like it was splashed with crushed cherries.

The mass concern soon subsided when Lavi assured everyone that they were alright and ordered that they should get back to work. He turned his head to the side where he caught a glimpse of Kanda's rubicund skin tone. He saw Kanda whispering and hissing angrily at Lenalee while the girl only flashed him an wicked smile. Lavi raised a brow in suspicion, wondering what the two Asians were talking about.

Allen, having witnessed everything, was left with the widest opal eyes everyone had ever seen. He knew everything now. Suddenly, all the pieces came together and a strong rush of realization flooded the young boy's brain. He realized what Lenalee was trying to do. All those stalking and planning all led to only one thing. It hit him like lightning. He felt his renowned British pride break into tiny pieces for not apprehending the whole situation sooner. He rubbed his palm on his face, massaging his forehead. He felt absolutely stupid.

She was trying to get the two of them together!

But then his feelings of stupidity vanished. How could the other sixty-four people inside the auditorium miss the obvious reddishness on their faces? The embarrassed expressions? The very awkward movements? The frequent stuttering? It was so blatantly obvious that Allen felt he was taking happy pills. His thoughts were muddling up when he decided to forget about it for awhile. He wasn't against Lenalee's plans though, given that he was quite the open-minded person. He just couldn't believe that he was actually helping two men get together for the past seven days. He exhaled loudly, attempting to shrug the whole revelation off.

* * *

The next day was a little less tense for Lavi. Morning classes were effortless and fast. The next thing he knew, it was already noon—time for the Music Festival preparations. That time, the basketball team helped out on the quadrangle where the sun directly shone on them with all its glory. Lavi felt he tanned a bit. He much preferred working inside the cool auditorium—where the kendo team was assigned. He couldn't deny that he felt a bit down since he wouldn't be able to see Kanda the whole afternoon.

Lavi walked back to the dorms extracted of all signs of energy and happiness. He had never felt so sluggish. Working under the burning sun was a pain and he actually wished it would rain that day, but not one single drop fell. He cursed the English weather and glared at the hycanthine sky; it rained when he didn't want to and it wouldn't let out a single drop if he would be willing enough to make a rain dance just for some downpour. Sweat was sticking on his back and made an uncomfortable brush with his white undershirt.

He had taken off his black blazer and white polo in the middle of hammering some wood for a stage on the quadrangle when it had become unbearably hot. He worked with only a white tank top. Girls suddenly became more common in the outside clearing. When the rest of the basketball team imitated Lavi and took off their blazers and undershirts, the Home Economics Club suddenly felt like working outside, too.

Lavi stepped inside his room with a frown and a tired sigh. Flopping down on Kanda's bed, instead of his, he relaxed at the cool softness it gave. He unconsciously whiffed Kanda's sweet scent from the sheets, closing his eyes and relaxing his tense muscles as he savored the smell. He let his arm rest over his eyes. He could hear nothing but the muffled sounds of the excessively loud music coming out from the first floor lounge.

Kanda wasn't home yet and he knew he wouldn't be back soon so he let himself loosen up on the other one's bed. He was too drained to go up to his own part of the bunk bed. Kanda would have definitely thrown a bitch fit if he knew Lavi had lay down on his bed. The vibrating of his phone alarmed him and made him pick it up quickly. He relaxed again when he saw it was just Lenalee, sending him a text saying she would come over.

The room was suddenly quiet which gave him free time to concentrate. He recalled one of his friends, Seth, inviting him downtown for some drinks with the boys that afternoon. He had thought of coming but realized he much preferred staying indoors with Kanda. He hadn't done that for a while. It made him wonder since he had never felt strong emotions to any of his ex-girlfriends. It made him wonder why he even slept with some of them. He was still a teenager, after all; just an ordinary, young man with normal sexual frustrations. He had probably slept with two or three of his past girlfriends before. And not to mention, fooling around with a few. He couldn't think of anyone in his team who was still a virgin. They were so much worse than Lavi. They would party every night, get drunk, and sleep with girls they don't even know the names of. Lavi wasn't like that and wouldn't sleep with anyone he didn't have any affection for. Sure, he was a jerk to some girls, a sort of Casanova, but compared to his jock friends, he was a total wuss.

Lavi shifted slightly, his uniform scraping against the sheets. He could still smell Kanda's scent from his position which made him think of the absent boy. He battled against the vivid images trying to push their way into his mind. He hadn't seen his roommate all afternoon and the morning classes didn't let him catch small glimpses at him. When he woke up earlier that morning, Kanda was already gone. He hadn't seen much of his wonderful blue eyes that day, his perfectly flawless face, and his frequently pursing lips. Lavi furrowed his brow. What would it feel like to kiss him? Was his lips soft? Maybe it would feel a bit coarse since he hadn't been kissed yet. He imagined it was slightly chapped and Lavi wished he could fix that. He couldn't help but remember what had happened the previous day; how Kanda felt when he fell on him. They were so close, entangled like that. The close proximity made him wonder how it would feel like to brush his hands and lips against the other man's long neck, his collarbones, along his shoulder blades...

Lavi then found it hard to breath. His breaths became labored and fast. He started to shift on the bed restlessly, exhaling loudly to ease the bulge that was forming between his legs. His mind revolved around how nice it would be to run his fingers through his beautiful silken hair; how it would feel to hold him close and kiss him; how his mouth would feel and taste like and how his eyes would shine if Lavi had indeed done these things. A whimper escaped from Lavi's lips and he was panting. He should stop but he didn't want to, powerless to do anything about the swelling in his pants. He removed his arm from his forehead and clenched his fists against the zipper of his pants. He let out a breathy groan as he unzipped his black slacks. A soft rustling sound was heard; the sound of his palm fervently rubbing up and down as he let out hitches of breath.

"Fuck," he gasped when the image of Kanda down on his knees popped out of the blue. His thoughts had seriously gotten out of control. His hands kept moving; his back arching, almost finished—

_Knock! Knock!_

Lavi, startled, jerked up and leapt to his feet. Being painfully interrupted of his fantasies, he pulled his pants back to his waist, not bothering to button it as he shouted in displeasure, emphasizing every other syllable, "_What_ the _fuck_ing _fuck_—"

The redhead blinked for a second and found himself glaring angrily at the innocent painted mahogany door. Awesomely frustrated, he rubbed his palms rabidly against his face. He cried out grumpily, "Son-of-a-_bitch_!" He walked with angry footsteps toward the knocking. He swore he'd beat the crap out of the person behind the door.

Lavi guessed it was one of his dormmates or probably Lenalee as she had said that she was coming over. He clutched the doorknob.

"Whoever the fuck you are, I swear I'm gonna—"

But when he irately opened the door, he saw a person standing outside; a person he was passionately thinking of just seconds ago; a person he honestly thought would never appear at the door. Right before him stood a surprised-looking young man who possessed a pair of stunning pavonated eyes which Lavi had learned to adore.

"La—"

Out of surprise, Lavi swung the door back harshly, leaving an echo of a loud bang. He simply hadn't expected Kanda to come home early. He felt the strong waves of awkwardness and embarrassment splash him straight to the face. He just slammed the door at his roommate's face! He knew he was being a total jerk; ironically since he was jerking off to indecent thoughts of the man he just banged the door at.

"You fucking bastard, open the goddamn door!" Kanda's very angry—and scary—voice was heard from the other side of the door. The knob was waggling forcibly and he could hear Kanda kicking the poor wooden door. All of Lavi's irritation was then replaced with fear. God knew he was scared shitless of Kanda when he was infuriated. Lavi's eye widened. He knew the other man was planning to break the door sooner or later. He quickly opened it to meet his then fuming blue eyes.

"What the hell, you idiot?" Kanda hissed like a snake, scoffed crossly and pushed him out of the way as he went inside.

The redhead rubbed the back of his neck and stumbled for words, "S-Sorry. _I_... just thought... _you_ was— were... someone else...?"

The uncertainty in his voice made Kanda raise a brow and tilt his head at him. "You look..." He then eyed Lavi from head to toe; his collared undershirt was heavily tousled, his hair uncombed and messy. His eyes traveled south where he noticed Lavi's unbuttoned pants. He looked away with a blush. Kanda only assumed he was in the middle of getting undressed.

Lavi's face was just as red. He just wished Kanda wouldn't notice that his bed reeked of sexual frustration and sweat.

* * *

**A/N: LOL IDK WHAT I'M DOING ANYMORE. Well, a little mature content there. I'd appreciate comments, reviews, questions and suggestions. If I made a mistake at some info or my writing, please do tell. I seriously love you guys for keeping up with my bullcrap. My brain was vacationing in the Bahamas after my finals so I wasn't writing anything during those times. College is about to fuck me this year so I do hope I'll have more time for this. I'm seriously too young for college.**

**I've been, like, tumblr-ing all day my mind kinda hurts from all the scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and reblog and scrolling...  
**

**I don't own the series. And I don't want to. Because it's going to be _totally_ different if I held any rights to the manga.  
**

**Reviews make me write ;)**

**Kinda. But I'd like to know what you awesome people think!  
**


	11. Hyperaphia

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**11. Hyperaphia**

**•**

* * *

"I think I like someone."

The statement immediately made Kanda's head whip toward his right, where a rather solemn Lavi sat, staring into the open space, his chin resting on his palm. Kanda tried his best not to show too much reaction on the matter. But his breathing felt like it ceased and he couldn't help but feel upset. Lavi sounded abnormally serious, which made things worse. He never really had trouble with his love life, and with his expression looking all smitten, a strong, painful weight seemed to find itself in Kanda's stomach.

The dejected boy said nothing and avoided eye contact. Lavi, unmoving, continued, "It's… kinda different. I dated a lot of girls before and confess like it was the easiest thing to do in the world…"

_Thanks for fucking reminding me_, Kanda irately thought. Lavi seemed too bothered to look back at him while Kanda tried to stop the urge to run out of the room. He even thought of just saying he needed a drink outside to excuse himself. Staying there to listen to Lavi whine about his love problems would be a little too bad for his heart but suddenly bolting out of the room would be too suspicious.

"It's just that—I don't have the slightest idea whether that person likes me back. And we… we've known each other for a really long time…"

A list was beginning to pile up in Kanda's brain, browsing all the girls Lavi had known for at least a year. Several names popped up, but as far as Kanda knew, all those names were quite fond of Lavi, and were even willing to date the guy. He let out sound to signal he was listening to the redhead, slightly shaking.

"It's just, if things go bad, I don't think I can handle it."

Kanda gasped soundlessly, his eyes widening and hands trembling. He sat up on his bed, thinking that lying down would be a bad idea, especially with that big bag of hurt building up in his chest.

He opened his mouth but not before turning to Lavi, who was still spacing out like a love struck teenager and leaning cross-legged on their out-of-place _kotatsu_. He finally mustered up the guts to ask, "Who is she?"

Lavi was caught off-guard, slightly taken aback that Kanda was interested, a bit hurt too because he was fine with it, stuttered, "Uh, well, Yu probably knows _her_ well? "

Holy shit. His mind wanted to explode. "L-Lenalee?"

"Hell no!" Lavi shouted back and actually stood up and finally met eyes with him. He quickly turned away with a slight blush. "Not that she ain't pretty and cute and all, but she's like, I don't know, I kinda get the mother vibes from her." He averted his gaze to the left, shuddering.

Kanda was slightly relieved but still couldn't take that fact that Lavi still had the hots for someone he knew. "Then who is it?"

Lavi licked his upper lip and stared up the ceiling, trying to come up with someone. "I-I-I… can't tell you. It's sorta—"

"What are telling me all of this shit for?" Kanda spat out. Lavi was always willing to tell him everything. Lavi seemed different from the usual.

"I don't know how to confess and maybe you'd have an idea?"

"You're fucked up." Kanda just felt offended. Lavi had courted a whole classroom of ladies and he was asking for advice from someone who had never been in a relationship. Splendid. "You're full as bullcrap as always."

"W-Well—! How would you like someone to confess to y-you? Say, _hypothetically,_ someone really, _really_ likes you."

"This is pointless." The smaller boy said with an exasperated sigh. He roughly stood up with eyes closed and eyebrows knitted. There was no way he could let the discussion continue, especially when his thoughts instantly popped the images of a lovestruck Lavi. Finally, putting the excuse he thought about earlier to use, "I'm getting a drink downstairs."

Stunned, Lavi clumsily followed, knowing that if he didn't leave as well, the atmosphere would be awkward by the time Kanda would come back. It was nearing eleven in the evening and they were at the hallway; the compressed, elongated space made their voices echo.

"W-Wait! I'm comin' with ya!"

"Don't bother!"

"I won't talk about it again!"

They reached the ground floor using the elevator—since most of the residents were asleep—and walked to the lobby. The whole floor was dim except for the few Sconce lamps that scattered, driven to the walls, providing them very little light with its unhelpful orange glow. Nine was their Light's Out so there was no one else in the lobby, just the four bright vending machines, overused upholstered furniture and decorative potted palms keeping the two company.

Kanda, not bothering to look behind him where Lavi waited, inserted a series of coins and clicked the button for a bottle of cold green tea. As the machine started to process, he said with a snarky tone, "You didn't have to follow me."

The taller man scratched the back of his head and stared at a different direction. "Ah, well… I wanted a drink, too." He saw Kanda roll his eyes when the machine let out a loud bang. The bottle didn't drop. And Kanda looked pissed and was about to punch the living lights of the poor dispenser until Lavi stopped him. "Christ, calm down. Lemme try somethin' here."

Kanda stepped aside and crossed his arms. Lavi gripped the machine with both hands and gently shook it to the right. The bottle fell and Kanda could say he was impressed. Lavi was stronger than he thought.

"Here ya go," The redhead said, offering the moist green bottle. Lavi expected Kanda would be too arrogant to say thanks so he wasn't anticipating for any words of appreciation. "Works every time."

"T-Thanks." Lavi smiled at the forced remark and bought a drink for himself. Kanda eyed the other guy and asked, "Red Bull before going to sleep? Are you nuts?"

"Figured I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight anyways," he replied, popping the can's cap. He stiffened, remembering he shouldn't be talking about his love matters. He was scared to gaze back at Kanda, who he had been avoiding eye contact with. Was he pissed? Or maybe he remained impassive? He was afraid of what his expression would be.

Kanda let his back lean on the light blue vending machine and said coolly, without ever knowing why, "You know, if you really do like her. Just go for it."

"Huh? Wh—"

Kanda cut him off. The surroundings were dark so it was unnoticeable he was all flushed. "I mean…! You never had problems like this before! S-So…!" He paused, bowing his head to hide his pained expression. "It must mean that… you like her _that_ much to be troubled… like this."

Lavi, also plastered with the same pained features, could only reply, "Y-Yeah… I should just take the initiative, huh?"

Then, there was a short moment of silence. They were leaning on the machines, drinks in hand, both struck with heartache. Lavi didn't know about Kanda's circumstances and he thought he was totally fine with everything. And Kanda was the same, thinking Lavi was actually—genuinely in love with someone.

"_Just do it,_ huh?" he mumbled to himself and took a sip. Kanda, who was beside him, heard his words. He looked at the redhead. He was staring into the abyss, stupefied, and probably daydreaming about that person he liked. Kanda couldn't take it, his hands were shaking again.

"I-I'm going ahead." He was about to make a run for it when a large hand shackled his wrist, pulling him two steps back. His touch was rather warm for someone holding a chill can for quite a while. "Wha—"

When his eyes met with Lavi's, he couldn't quite pinpoint the man's expression. At first he thought he was in pain, from what, he didn't know. It was too dark to see his features and he had no idea why he was stopped.

"I—" Lavi began, then after a while realized that he had done something unconsciously—and not to mention unplanned. He immediately let go, leaving Kanda with eyes wide with confusion and cheeks tinged with red. He fumbled for an excuse. "I-I—! I wanted to say I'm going back to the room, too…"

It was a surprise Kanda didn't break into madness by then. Because for a moment there, even though it was the farthest long shot in history, he actually thought Lavi was about to confess to him.

* * *

Somehow, the weather seemed to be rather cooperative the next morning. The whole student body was relieved to see the sky shining brightly of blue instead of gray. The weather reports warned about slight rain in the morning but it seemed unlikely. The festival would have been cancelled if that were to happen.

There were stages set up at every single clearing of the campus; one at the auditorium, one at each of the four gymnasiums, two at the quadrangle, and another two in the fields. No one knew what the Music Club was up to that day since the program from the year before was said to be absurd. That year's fair seemed to be livelier with the booths, costumes, and decorations. The club probably realized that classical music wasn't the best in the entire world and wasn't everyone's cup of tea. They didn't mention about the schedule for that day, so everything was a surprise. But they gave out a few things that students should be expecting through the school speakers. Each stage would have a genre or special event, just like a real Music Fest.

The atmosphere was full of energy, most of it focused at the quadrangle where most booths and food stands stood. It was a refreshing sight; faces brimming with smiles and laughs toned with excitement. There wasn't a spot where music couldn't be heard, with a bunch of loud speakers scattered throughout the university grounds. But there was only one person who couldn't quite feel the energy.

Lavi, who was always in the mood for any party, was abnormally passive that morning. He sat on one of the iron bistro chairs by the English landscape gardens—where the students busied themselves with food bought from the stands. The opening program would be held at noon but the whole student body was already hectic.

"Oh, Lavi, there you are. You should try their ace homemade biscuits." Lavi looked ahead to see Allen walking toward his table, holding two paper bags of the Music Club's homemade cookies. He was munching on them continuously, immediately picking up another after finishing one. The redhead envied the boy, having to wear civvies instead of their absurdly layered uniform.

"For a beansprout, ya sure eat a hell lot."

"Please stop. It's bad enough that arsehole roommate of yours keeps calling me that," Allen said, biting a cookie afterward and sitting to a chair beside him.

Lavi was in love with _that arsehole roommate_ of his. His mind kept on going back to Kanda, and being his roommate didn't help and worsened his heart condition. He had to manually stop himself from thinking about the guy and what Kanda said to him the night before. It kept bugging him like an annoying twelve-year-old little brother. Should he confess? Maybe it would create a big impact on their relationship, then again, maybe it wouldn't.

"Where is he anyway?" Allen had to ask. He had successfully come up with over twenty insults and at least ten witty retorts for Kanda since the first thing they do was slur at each other.

Lavi just wanted to forget about Kanda even just for a minute, just so he could plan what his next move should be. Allen wasn't helping. He ran his hands through his bright red-orange hair and stopped at the back of his neck. "He… uh… went to his club. They were running errands."

"Oh." Allen noticed his exasperated tone. He joked, face unchanging, "You look like my dog's breakfast. Something wrong?"

Instead of telling him his problem, he couldn't help but wonder, "You have a dog?"

"Yeah. You haven't seen him yet, huh?" Allen's eyes suddenly sparkled with adoration. "He's this huge, adorable, smart Golden Retriever. I can't let him stay in the dormitories yet. There's some paperwork involved. He was originally master's but he kinda gave it to me."

"Master? You mean Sir Cross?" Lavi stared in disbelief. "I never saw him as a dog person."

"Oh, he's incredibly nice to animals. But he treats humans as slaves and disposable items."

It was a miracle how Allen could say that with a poker face. He was probably used to the abuse and therefore comprised little effect on him. Lavi shuddered with the thought of Cross. His appreciation and respect for his legal guardian, Bookman, suddenly went up a notch. Allen had to be stuck with the mean, debt-bequeathing, alcoholic man, who, ironically enough, was his Business Management teacher and a high school Industrial Arts teacher. In addition to that, he was teaching Music and IT in the college building. None of his subjects suited him at all.

Loud barking was then heard from the distance. When Allen's eyes widened with familiarity, Lavi had already guessed whose dog it was.

"Timcampy!" Allen said with joy, leaving his last bag of cookies at the table. He ran off to where the bark came from. Lavi watched him made his way toward the dog.

"Good morning, Allen." Together with Allen's dog was Lenalee, with her pigtails worn lower than usual, holding in her right hand a black leash connected to the golden creature's collar and in her other hand was a tall cup of pink-colored smoothie. Allen was busy petting the drooling dog's head and baby-talking it when Lenalee greeted the redhead. "Never thought you'd actually come."

"It doesn't seem like it would suck like last year," he replied and tried to smile back.

Lavi found himself being lured by the Golden Retriever's endearing eyes, standing up to pet the guy. He could call himself an animal lover but he knew keeping one would be a hassle. He'd be too lazy to take care of a pet, anyway.

"Has he eaten?" Allen asked, finally standing up and brushing off dirt from his slacks. Lenalee cheerfully said yes and handed the leash over to Allen. "I can't thank you enough for taking care of him. Sorry for all the trouble as well."

Lavi raised a brow. "Why is he with you?" he asked, referring to Timcampy.

"Tim's temporary home is the school's guard dogs cages. It was nearest to my dorm so I offered to take care of him for a while."

The last time Lavi visited the cages, he was almost bitten by one of the Dobermans. He wondered how a sweet, innocent dog like Timcampy could get along with the scary, not to mention highly-trained, Dobermans in the dog quarters.

"Excuse me," Allen said when a muffled Beatles song—his ringtone—began to play. He looked at his pockets as _Hey Jude_ kept playing from nowhere. The white-haired boy found his phone in his bag and pressed a button, finally causing the song to stop.

While Allen began talking with someone through the phone, Lenalee turned her attention to Lavi who looked more troubled than usual. "Did something happen again?" she asked, trusting her instincts. She sipped on the remaining traces of pink ice from her cup.

"You always know if something happened." Lavi took a deep breath before he declared, "I'm gonna confess."

Taken by surprise, the girl literally spat out pink liquid, and began running down from the sides of her mouth. A couple of students near their vicinity turned their heads at her. Allen hanged his phone up, just in cue with Lenalee's sudden spurt of pink goo mixed with saliva. Lavi just stared in childlike disgust.

"Oh, Lenalee, that's very unladylike," Allen said as he offered a handkerchief to her, unaware of the situation yet again. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you guys later."

Lavi watched Allen wave at them before walking away with the dog. "So, where's Queen Elizabeth going?"

Lenalee wiped her mouth off with the borrowed hanky and said, "Probably to the Music Club…" She paused for a second. Then she started jumping and clapping her hands. "But most importantly! Oh my god! How are you going to confess? Where? When? Are you—"

"Whoa, slow down there, miss."He lightly smacked her head with the side of his palms, like her skull was a cement block to be karate chopped to half. "I'm thinking about it. But the thing is…" he didn't continue and instead followed it with a sigh.

"This is great, Lavi!" she shouted, jumping and clapping and giggling. Then, she stopped with a heavy landing and asked, "What's with the sudden rush of courage?"

"Yeah, well, last night, I told him I liked someone. Yeah, he doesn't know it was him. He told me to go for it and man up." The tall man's face changed and saddened. "I don't know. It's upsetting to hear that, coming from him. But despite his words, it kind of gave me the guts to put things into action. It's like, there's this energy he gave off… Fuck, what am I even saying?"

"Everything will turn out fine. I know it." Hearing Lavi's story, she was glad that Kanda was somewhat responsible for Lavi's unexpected bravery. Reading between the lines, Kanda practically pushed the boy into confessing to him. Lenalee didn't even have to scheme—which kind of disappointed her, but nevertheless made her fairly proud.

Lavi looked at her face, eyes shining with assurance. It was as if she knew what the outcome would be already. "Ugh! This shit is making me crazy! What if everything went wrong and the worst case scenario happens!" He was pulling on his hair now.

"Don't be silly! There is _no _worst case scenario!"

"Sure, except when he rejects me and will never talk to me for the rest of my life." He plopped down on the bistro chair and absentmindedly began to eat the cookies Allen foolishly left. He then played a staring contest with the ground.

Lenalee turned her back on him and started to sing, "_Hey Jude…"_

"Hm?" The sudden singing made Lavi look up. He didn't know whether he was shocked with Lenalee singing (she never sang in front of him) or her singing an old man's song.

"_Don't be afraid… you were made to go out and get her..."_

"Huh, you were never really good in singing."

Lenalee stopped and pouted. "Oh, shut it. It's Allen's ringtone. I hear it every darn day." She giggled and spun around like a ballerina to face him again, her hair and skirt swinging with her. She laughed, and then smiled. "It just suits you right now."

* * *

It was lunch hour when the students were asked to gather inside the auditorium for the opening program. Even though food wasn't allowed within the premises, most of the people sneaked in their own preferred snacks. It took quite a long time before the room full of students settled in and quieted down.

Lavi's class was on the left seats of the auditorium. He caught Kanda by the entrance and mustered all of his courage to ask him to sit beside him. On the other hand, his classmates were fighting for seats and about who should sit with whom when their president approached them and ordered them to arrange themselves alphabetically—and again, luck wasn't on Lavi's side. Once arranged, he looked at the seat on his right. It was empty. And so he spun to his left.

"Hey Bateman, where's Robert?" the one-eyed asked his left seatmate for his missing right seatmate.

"Oh, you mean Brooks? I believe he's sick and won't be able to come today."

Jackpot. Lavi looked around for the class president and was glad he was nowhere in sight. He could see others from afar distorting their chronological seating arrangement. The lights dimmed, signaling the start of the program. Lavi twirled to search for Kanda who was two rows away from him. He looked unconcerned as always, arms crossed and eyelids heavy with lack of interest. He was about to shout out to him when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Yo, Junior. What're you standing around for?"

It was Robert Brooks, his missing seatmate.

The auditorium lights danced in tune with the performance on stage, colors playfully gliding on ceilings and walls. Bass began to beat loud, and Lavi could feel it thumping beneath his feet. Pop music played, it wasn't played by a CD since the actual beats were being made live by the band on stage, twiddling with the rectangular machines with buttons so colorful and bright it could be seen by the students on the farthest row. Instruments were being played on both sides of the theater, hidden from the dynamic spotlights.

And at that moment, the bass coming out of the speakers boomed rhythmically with the thumping of his gradually quickening heartbeat. Singers began to sing and dancers began to dance as the crowd cheered the performers. Lavi couldn't truly enjoy the show, preoccupied with his plans about letting out the truth. He just needed to find the right time. After all, love is all about timing.

The repertoire of dance and music numbers ran smoothly and successfully, with intermissions and inserts from the emcees and members of the Music Club. The curtains closed and opened again to reveal a grand piano in the middle of the stage, complete with fog effects and dimming lights. A figure was sitting in front of it, ready to play. Lavi needed to squint his one eye to figure out who the person was.

"Isn't that your friend? That new guy?" His seatmate whom he began to hate asked him.

Indeed, it was Allen. "Yeah… Don't tell me he's gonna sing—" But then, two men emerged from the left and the right of the stage and started to rap. That was when Allen began to play the piano. It's strange, but the beat coming out from the machines blended well with the piano piece and produced a softer form of R&B music, it sounded more like a ballad than a rap song with the chorus the only part sung mellow and ballad-like.

"Hey, your pal plays pretty good," the guy on his right commented. True enough, the piano chords were gradually getting more complicated and kicked off from mellow to Mozart speeded up to the power of three.

"Hells yeah he's good, he came from the same place the Beatles were born," Lavi managed to joke. The two guys rapping were amazing as well. For a cover of a popular ballad, the Music Club did pretty well in altering the notes and tempo. And just for the hell of it, Lavi turned his head to see Kanda's expression, because he knew Kanda hated the guy and he was curious whether he was impressed or still uninterested. But when he glanced behind him, Kanda's seat was empty. Since when was he gone?

Lavi scooted on his seat to ask the guys behind him. "Have ya guys seen Yu?"

"Kanda left awhile ago. After the carnival rock performance, I think? I'm not sure." a guy keen enough to notice replied. Lavi muttered a thanks in return.

The man with the eyepatch started to panic. He was going to confess and he had to do it on that day. He swore (to the cute newscaster at Channel 7) that if he failed to confess during the next twelve hours, he would never confess _ever_. His own threat seemed to work because as soon as Allen's number finished, Lavi abruptly stood up from the velvet seat and headed toward the backstage.

First, he wanted to compliment Allen. He rocked the ivories like hell and it was incredible. Second, maybe Kanda headed to the backstage. He had no idea where the guy would escape to but snooping around to find him wouldn't hurt.

"Lavi, what are you doing back here?" Lavi heard Allen's familiar accent, a little breathless after that tiring performance.

"You lil' bastard! You were awesome back there!" Lavi mocked and complimented at the same time, giving Allen a heavy pat on the back which made the small man cough.

"Thank you. I was a little nervous though."Allen let out a loud and proud exhale and added, "I had a few slip-ups. It was my first time to perform on stage."

Lavi patted him again on the back, a little lighter this time. "Slip-ups? I didn't even fucking noticed it, man. Don't worry 'bout that." His head whipped left and right to search around; people were in a rush for an interlude, some were rehearsing songs and girls were practicing their dance routine, with their swaying hips mesmerizing Lavi. "Anyway, have you seen Yu?"

"No," Allen replied. "Isn't the twat with you? I mean you're classmates."

"Yeah, just found out he left early. I have to tell him something important."

Allen raised an eyebrow and didn't even need to think twice. He knew it had something to do with their strange, intermittent relationship but he didn't want to go to detailed information. "If it helps, students aren't allowed to leave the audi until the opening program is over. He's probably still in the building."

"Thanks, man. I'll explore the place, then."

* * *

Half an hour of exploration later, the tired redhead had gone to all possible areas inside the art deco building which led him to the last place he could go and had never been. The rooftop was exceptionally empty with an exception of the small hydroponic gardens.

The sun was at its highest and it blinded what had been left of Lavi's vision. He had to narrow his eye to at least block a little of the brightness. He hovered his palm above his eyebrows, just to lessen the intensity of sunlight the sky was proudly emitting. Turning to his right, he couldn't blame the sun for blocking a beautiful scene that was shown right before him.

The light shone brilliantly and revealed a tranquil Kanda leaning on metal railings, his untied, black, locks of silk swaying in rhythm to the dusty breeze. Lavi found himself in a now-or-never situation. He stood still, unable to move out of nervousness. He would never go back on his word, he decided to admit his feelings on that day, on that place, to that person meters away from his grasp.

That was it. He took one step, unintentionally silencing his footsteps, because in the back of his mind, he really wasn't sure if he was ready to face that man, in the back of his mind, he really didn't want to Kanda to know he was there. But one, loud, careless step later, Kanda twirled around and Lavi found his underprivileged vision blurring. Was it the sun rays that fell straight to his face? Was it the sand from the wind that was almost caught in his eye?

_Now or never_, Lavi thought. He strided with heavy footsteps, waved and smiled at the other man. "Yu! What're you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking." Kanda said, going back to his past position; leaning against the rails, eyes looking straight at the marvelous sight of the old campus.

"Nothin' really." Lavi laughed as he gathered all of his strength to stand beside him, at least a ruler away. He leaned forward on the railings too.

"I thought you'd be too busy enjoying the show," the stern man said in his monotone voice.

"Hm?" Lavi just blinked, his brain processing turning a little stale despite the amount of blood his beating heart had just pumped out. "Uh, well. You missed Allen perform." Kanda frowned at Lavi's confused look. But Lavi had mistaken his frown for mentioning Allen. He just made a sound that meant he didn't care. "What about you? Why'd you leave?"

"Too loud." Kanda said. Lavi managed to relax a little, the tension on his shoulder depleting. With his arms against the metal rails, he knotted his hands together, evidently shaking. "You're fidgeting," Kanda observed.

Brows knitting, eye widening, Lavi was afraid he was caught. He immediately petrified in place. "Uhm… I'm sorry?"

Kanda finally looked at him in the eye, a gesture he had not been doing for reasons Lavi didn't bother to know. "Something's wrong with you. You normally just blurt out your problems." It was a statement. He didn't need to ask because he knew.

Lavi by then had felt all the levels of anxiety. His heart couldn't stop thumping like mad elephants in a stampede. He kept pursing his lips and knotting his fingers. "I can't tell you." Wrong. That wasn't what he was supposed to say. Lavi just hoped it wouldn't offend Kanda in some way because primarily, Lavi would always tell him anything and everything. When Kanda wasn't responding and kept looking forward. Lavi thought he fucked up the whole plan—if he had one in the first place. He added, getting straight to the topic, "Did ya know? I swore to myself I'd confess today."

Instead of anger or hostility—which Lavi had expected, Kanda cringed and showed the saddest eyes he had ever seen from him. Lavi's anxiety faded into a whirl of curiosity. Whoa, what was that? Kanda suddenly turned into a vulnerable being, showing off that kind of expressive face. He never showed off that kind of cheerlessness before. Sure, he looked angry all the time. But that time was different.

Lavi watched Kanda's body shift, his pale arms leaving the rails and instead held the steel with his hands. "The reason I can't confess that easily is because… I don't want our relationship to break. I might make it worse than it already is, and I don't want that. I don't want our relationship to end, even if it's completely platonic and stuff…" Lavi tilted his head slightly, awaiting a response.

Kanda didn't speak and didn't even try to look at the lovestruck boy. Lavi focused on the other man's lips when it pursed. All he could see was the side of Kanda's face, but that didn't make him less stunning. The silent boy had a blank face, unspeaking. A little less tense, Lavi felt he could pour everything out that moment.

He laughed softly and let himself relax. "I just love that person so much." His voice came out natural and totally composed. "I couldn't sleep. I drank more than I used to have. And damn, my liver's been aching more often. Even though it contradicts to what I just said, I don't want to be just friends. I can't be satisfied with it. _Just friends._ I mean, really? It's makin' me damn nuts! And—"

"S-Sorry…" Kanda murmured without looking at the ranting man beside him. Lavi shut himself up with the sudden words and he just blinked at him. Kanda slowly shook his head, looked down and muttered, "…I can't listen to this."

Kanda finally turned around to look at him. Lavi's uncovered eye met Kanda's unsettling blue eyes. The sun made his eyes glisten even more. "I-I have to go," Kanda whispered. He spun to the other direction and began walking away.

_Shit. This is bad. _Lavi bit his lip. What should he do? The man he had feelings for was walking away from him. The redhead inhaled a chunk of air before turning around to chase him.

"Hey, wait!" he shouted and walked faster. Kanda didn't stop. "I said, wait!" his voice was louder and more dominant, and as he said that, he grabbed Kanda's wrist again, tighter than he ever could imagine. He wanted him to stay so badly.

Kanda didn't look at what was stopping him and instead struggled out of Lavi's grip. "Let go," he told him. Lavi didn't budge and strengthened his hold. Kanda's hand balled into a fist and resisted harder. "It hurts, damn it!"

"Kanda." Lavi called out, his tone and grasp unwavering.

Kanda wasn't sure how he felt when Lavi called him with a different name. It felt unusual, almost heartbreaking. It even made him shiver. He wasn't used to Lavi calling him by his last name. He stiffened like a stone, stopping his attempts to escape from Lavi's grip. Kanda found the courage to slowly look up and gaze at the taller figure, taking in his features in all its seriousness, an expression he could describe as unusual and somewhat scary.

"Don't leave." Lavi realized it was his only chance. He didn't want to let go. They were both shaking with each other's touch, but they didn't know. He couldn't let Kanda leave. Lavi licked his lips before opening his mouth to say sorry, but with the unavoidability of the situation settling in, and his mind all confused and serious at the same time, it was only inevitable that he let out words completely unplanned and impulsive, but nevertheless evocative.

"I'm in love with... this person." He began, his breath and heartbeat quickening. "I love that person so damn much I can't stand it. I tried to so hard to keep our relationship safe, to keep it from breaking apart. But seriously, how could I manage to do that? I see you every day, every night, every time I turn around, at class, during lunch, in the morning! How could I be satisfied with just that? Even when you're not physically by my side, you manage to appear in my mind. I can't stop thinking about you! I'm so in love with you, goddamnit!"

It took a while before all the words processed in his brain. He spoke too fast and Kanda was nothing more than stunned. He might have turned into stone at that moment. His eyes were the widest it could be, quivering, blinking rapidly. His heart was racing. His throat was dry. Lavi's touch on his wrist began to feel warm and sizzling, like he was experiencing a bad case of hyperaphia.

Lavi, against the light, lightened his grip and walked a step toward Kanda, shadowing over him. He loosened his hand that was grabbing the other man's wrist and slowly slithered it over Kanda's trembling fingers. By then, he was acting based on instinct.

Their pulses picked up as soon as Lavi got closer and closer. There was only an inch and a half height difference, but when the taller man placed his hand sternly on Kanda's lower back and closed the distance between their chests, Kanda found himself having to tilt his head to look at Lavi's shadowed face.

Nothing was holding the redhead back; his logic, his pride, his anxiety. He let it all go as he tilted his chin and firmly pushed his lips against Kanda's. The smaller man nearly let out a squeak when he gasped with the sudden sensation on his lips. The feel of Lavi's fingers on his back and palm was enough to shut him up. He stood completely still, not even managing to kiss back or pull away. His mind was as blank as a clean piece of paper.

By that time, none of them knew what to do next. And all Lavi couldn't help but feel worry. He hopefully thought, from the back of his mind, that the tentative damage wouldn't lead to destruction.

* * *

**A/N:**** I just want to say there's a new DGM chap today... or tomorrow, I don't know. You're probably thinking, "Finally! Some action!". Sorry it took so long for the update. I had this written a long time ago, I just didn't have the time with college and stuff.. This is way too long, btw. Hyperaphia means really sensitive to touch. I heard it on Nat Geo. Hah.  
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**It's funny 'cause I forgot my pass here, and then I realized it was the same as my tumblr password. Thank God.**

**Also, I'd love to know what you think! Feel free to send any review, bad or good, or whatever. I accept anything~**


	12. Aftershock

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**12. Aftershock**

**•**

* * *

The sound of raindrops hitting the ground outside echoed throughout the small dormitory room. It had very little space. It had a bed, a corner table, one wooden chair and a mahogany study desk. The kitchen was smaller than the one in his room and only had a miniature chiller and stove. The walls and ceilings had no cracks and were covered with new, odorless, white paint. It was very different from his room, which was damaged with cracks and fading color. It seemed a little too overused in his perspective.

Lavi could feel the wooden floor beneath him, providing unnecessary chills to his back. The back of his head was starting to ache after lying on the ground for a long time. He was doing absolutely nothing. His less than perfect eyesight only focused at the fluorescent light just above him, which made vivid shapes appear in his vision for exposing it to the glow.

He couldn't move, unwilling to make use of what little energy that was left of him. Remembering that afternoon made him cringe, his eye and throat sting and his lips purse. Lavi swallowed and licked his lips, trying to taste, to feel, any traces of Kanda. But all he could feel was that ridiculously painful sensation in his jaw. His heart was the same as his aching jawbone—plagued and distressed and broken.

Kanda gave him a pretty strong punch the day before. Lavi kissed him and was given a rather heavy fist on the left side of his face in return—cheek and jaw included. It hurt a lot, and even the ice pack didn't relieve the pain. After Kanda hit him, he ran away from him in a hurry and left him standing alone, with a bruise on his face and heart. Lavi had stood there for a few more seconds, trying to process what had happened. His mind was all sorts of confusion and tried to assess what he should be doing and feeling next. When he tried to touch his aching cheek, he couldn't help but regret every single thing he had done. He didn't want to cry and hardly shed any tears, but his throat stung too much that he had to swallow his saliva several times to alleviate whatever was stuck in his throat.

Damage wasn't destruction. But it sure was close. Lavi covered his eyes with his arms, trying not to cry. But he cried. He was alone. There was no one to see his miserable, miserable expression. He tried to keep his purplish jaw tightly shut because if he didn't, he would let out embarrassing pansy ass noises. He cried because he regretted what he had done. He cried because he kept thinking damage wasn't destruction and the possibility that both of them could happen at the same time never crossed his mind. He cried because the likelihood of Kanda never wanting to talk or be with him was in all ways high. He cried because he had a choice, he had a choice to stay safe, but he chose to risk it all, because he thought that maybe Kanda had the same feelings as him.

His gaze wandered. The room was smaller somehow, his eyes beginning to puff out. He sniffed and tried to count cracks in the ceilings, his usual doing when he was bored, but barely found any. He was in Room 141, Allen's room. Lavi had been living in Room 143 for a long time, the same amount of time he had been living with Kanda under the same roof. But going back there would be torture. After Kanda had walked away from him, Lavi didn't know how he could face the affronted man again. And he didn't. He avoided meeting him during the whole festival. And the whole day, he sulked and drank in a bar downtown. He couldn't care less about the festival at that point. He came back at midnight, slept at Allen's floor and cried again.

Allen was willing to let the drunken guy stay. He offered pillows and blankets but before he could, the redhead was already asleep on his floor. Allen was a smart kid, and he assumed something had happened between Lavi and Kanda. He was sympathetic enough to help them, but he knew Lenalee would do something once she would find out. But Allen wondered how Lenalee would react. She would feel guilty, he supposed. He was troubled for a moment, he didn't want the lady to blame herself, but Lavi and Kanda were his friends, too, and he wanted the two men to patch things up and get it over with as soon as possible. But what could he do, honestly?

The thud of a door closing interrupted Lavi's thoughts. Taking off his shoes, Allen dropped his heavy bag on the floor and noticed Lavi was still on the floor, his clothes dating back from yesterday, his face as terrible as the night before. Allen sighed, truly worried, his face showing utmost concern.

Sitting on the side of his bed, Allen tried to speak in his most kindhearted tone. "Hey," he said. "Lenalee was looking for you." Lavi didn't move and kept his arms on his face. Allen added, hoping it would create some kind of impact, "She was looking for Kanda as well, we heard he didn't show up in class." Mentioning Kanda's name made Lavi sniffle loudly. "But I heard he showed up for club practice."

Lavi's hands balled into fists. Allen still couldn't see his face but he knew the heartbroken man had been crying, and so he prepared his next words, forceful but not enough to upset the already upset guy. In all honesty, Allen hadn't had the slightest idea what to do in his current situation. "Lavi, look, you're still knackered and it's already five. You haven't eaten and you reek of alcohol." He paused, waiting for a reaction. There was none. "You should try going back to your room. Kanda's not there."

It wasn't like Allen wanted to kick the man out of his room. Just seeing Lavi like that made Allen feel bad for some reason and he wanted Lavi to get back up on his feet again, lively and smiling. He stood up and sat cross-legged beside Lavi. "Come on, get up. Try going back, all right? Take a bath, eat whatever…" Allen shook his shoulders. "Lenalee's coming over here, so if you don't want her to see you like this, get up and fix yourself."

It took a while before Lavi mustered up the will and energy to get up and go back to his room. Just as Allen had suggested, Lavi took the coldest shower in his life, not bothering to use the heater, and soon found out that most of his clothes are in the laundry and Kanda was probably too angry the night before that he didn't bother doing the laundry even though it was his turn. Lavi had no choice but to wear last year's P.E uniform and old jugging pants. He didn't have many clothes and borrowing Kanda's would be just painful. He looked around. Allen told him to eat, but he couldn't because Kanda would always cook for the both of them. Everything inside their room reminded him of his mistake. He couldn't afford to stay there any longer and barged out as soon as he could.

That was why Allen was surprised when Lavi came barging into his room with a pillow and a bag of clothes—most of them dirty and needed to be washed.

"I'm movin' out. Mind if I stay here?"

* * *

The past three days were the worst days of Lavi's life. He didn't attend any of his classes and barely made it to basketball practice. He even evaded Lenalee. And most importantly, he hadn't seen Kanda for days. He slept one night at his basketball friend's dorm room and two times in the smaller library by the colleges.

And then Lavi got back into the habit of skipping his classes. His teachers weren't amused, especially Bookman whose classes was the one he almost always escaped from. They couldn't drop the guy. Besides his connections, his grades weren't diminishing at all—maybe a little, but not even remotely severe. He still submitted homework and passed extra credit work. Thus, he was sentenced to disciplinary work; twenty days of work in the library—not the one next to their building, but the other library, near the college buildings. Going there was more of a hassle than the actual work since his "prison" term was on the highest floor, the Theology and Humanities section, on the farthest building from his dormitory. Bookman probably did it on purpose. The college library was quite modest. It was newer than the main library but it featured the best books. The good thing was that nobody knew him and the books were ancient and were practically gods on the adorned shelves.

Lavi hadn't had contact with Kanda in a long time and it was killing him. He wanted to call him and apologize, but ever since then Lavi lost all the courage and confidence he had built up. He didn't smile as much as he used to and had pretty much drowned himself in reading books in the library. When his habit of cutting worsened, he was sent to the principal's office. His scholarship was threatened to be eradicated if he kept cutting class and so he was left with no choice but to attend.

Of course, his feelings didn't change. He still wanted Kanda. When he walked inside the classroom after days of library work and fear, he was greeted with faces happy to see him. The teacher wasn't present yet and so it made a huge ruckus. His gaze traveled to the farthest end of the classroom and saw Kanda looking outside, disinterested. And it broke his heart. The hurt showed in his face. Everyone seemed surprised.

"It's been a while, Lavi." The class president smiled at him, patting his shoulders. "The seats have changed. You sit on the last row now. Is that okay?"

He was just absent for a few days and suddenly the seating arrangement changed? Lavi thought the question was rather useless since he would be forced to sit in the back anyway. He felt relieved and upset at the same time. Kanda wasn't next to him anymore. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but he sure wasn't smiling about it. Everyone was secretly wondering what had happened to him, why he was skipping class. Curiosity was the main reason why the class began to gossip about him. Others got it right, saying he had a fight with Kanda since he was showing the same symptoms. Lavi wondered why they wouldn't just simply ask him what was wrong. He would've said quarter of the truth.

The back seat was a good location, he admitted. The teachers failed to notice that he lacked a necktie and purposely wore sneakers instead of black leather shoes. Music was his last period. He fell asleep in the middle of a lecture about Bach. He wasn't scolded off because of that either. Frankly, their music teacher was blind. Marie Noise was one of Kanda's closest people, Tiedoll being their guardian. Their music teacher had a strong build, had a dark complexion and wore some kind of hearing device, kind of like headphones, on his head. His amazing hearing compensated his lack of sight which made him a remarkable musician. He had an accent—a milder form of Schwarzenegger—Lavi would always joke. Marie was a kind man and everyone loved the guy, trying their best not to sleep during his lectures, no matter how boring it was.

The bell rang. Lavi was the first one who dashed out of the classroom while the others would be just standing up from their seats. He skipped practice and headed immediately to the library for work. The distance between the school and the library felt like a pilgrimage and he wished he had his own car so he could just drive there.

His jaw ached when he touched it. Walking down the path, he closed his eyes for a moment and sulked mentally. It would be bad if someone saw him crying. But as the path grew unfamiliar each second, he thought, maybe it was alright to cry. Nobody knew him and nobody would care. But he felt like a total wuss for doing nothing but cry and lament all the time. He was growing tired of it and wanted himself to stop.

* * *

"You're early today," the librarian of the fifth floor said, not bothering to look at him and instead focused her eyes on the computer screen behind the information desk. She was an old, shabby-looking woman, pale and wrinkled, brown and gray hair tied up into a bun like a stereotypical librarian. A bit stuck-up, he supposed, but at least she was still nice to him.

"So, are there any things to do? Cataloging? Computer problems?" he asked, putting down his things behind the desk and sitting down on the upholstered chair after that long, long walk.

"Not today." She propped up her circular glasses. "Go occupy the reference desk. I despise dealing with those college boys, a bothersome bunch I must say. And don't get me started with those Tourism girls, always so loud and annoying."

Lavi sighed. Why was he stuck in that place? The librarian on the 3rd floor was young, good-looking and single, and there he was on the 5th floor, stuck with an old woman who hated everyone. He muttered an okay and sat behind the reference desk. Certainly the library was quiet, and the students were well-behaved enough to avoid making the slightest bit of noise. It was the Theology section after all. He relaxed into his seat and propped his feet on the desk, taking advantage of the silence to ease his mind.

"Excuse me." The voice shocked Lavi and abruptly removed his feet from the counter.

"Y-Yes?" Lavi stuttered. In front of him was a female college student, wearing an unfamiliar uniform.

She tucked her long, golden bangs behind her ear and handed him a piece of paper. "I can't find these books in the online catalog. Can you help me find it?"

She was way beyond gorgeous, Lavi thought. He took the paper and typed the titles on computer. "Uh, yeah, it's at the back so I'll just get it for ya." He turned around and the girl replied a cheery thank you to him. She said more words of gratitude when Lavi handed her the books.

"_Church and Sacraments_ and _Christian Ethics_? It's kinda unlikely for a pretty girl to study these." Lavi said, surprisingly, without any traces of flirting. He wasn't in the mood and merely asked out of curiosity.

The girl laughed quietly. "It's mandatory. It's for my Theology course." She signed in a few papers needed to borrow the books. "Say, you're a high school student, right?" Lavi nodded. "Well, if you plan on taking university studies here, Theology would never leave your curriculum. You're going to study about this until you graduate." She warned, a smile forming on her plump, glossy lips. With that, the tall lady said thanks, bid her goodbyes and left.

Lavi began to think about God. He began to question the notion of a supreme lord existing above the stratosphere, watching all the people in the world. Did God have billions of eyes? Did he really create the universe? Well, if he was real, Lavi wanted to meet him and punch him in the face for making him do what he just did and for putting his relationship into jeopardy. Denial was the second stage and blaming others was his defense mechanism. Lavi kept blaming God for his mistake. But he knew in one part of his mind that it was his fault, his own doing. In one part of his mind, he knew it was nobody's liability but his.

_God, wherever the fuck you are, just tell me why you did this to me?_ He said mentally to himself. If anyone would have heard him, he would probably be scolded for blasphemy, Catholic school and all that. At that moment, all Lavi could really think of was his sunken friendship with Kanda. His heart was aching, his knuckles were clenching and the punch he had received was still swelling.

He rubbed his face with his palms. Thankfully he was sitting because his knees wobbled and his head pounded. He was grateful for the protective shield the wide, silent library gave him. He wished he could just lock himself in a room and shut himself inside it; just him, the silence, and a few bottles of beer.

* * *

Later that night, Bookman called Lavi on his phone, asking the boy to come to the courtyard of the school. By the time he got there, Lavi couldn't help but stare at his new car in disbelief. Bookman looked pleased and the redhead was more than excited. A second-hand, convertible, 1966 Chevy Impala stood in front of him, in all its vintage glory, parked next to his grandfather's shiny, restored, black 1969 Camaro.

"Take good care of it."

"No _fucking_ way." Lavi whispered, still in extreme shock. He couldn't find the nerve to touch it. It was so damn beautiful. Even though the red paint was awfully vanishing, the front sub frames were dented, and the front bumper was covered with rust, the incredulous boy couldn't help but sigh at its splendor.

"It needs a lot of work before it can look like my Camaro," the old man boasted. "But the engine is good, though the interior and floor pan needs work, and the brakes need to be replaced. We can get it restored tomorrow."

Lavi wondered. Why was the old man suddenly being nice to him? He asked, "But, why now, old man? I mean, I almost got suspended and all that… What's in it for me?"

"I've been too hard on you these days. Don't be too happy though; consider this as your birthday and Christmas present—" Bookman's interrupted words earned him a strong, bear hug.

He test drove it that same night out of excitement. It definitely wasn't his dream car, but god damn he could live knowing he possessed that breathtaking Impala. In fact, he had already forgotten the Pontiac GTO he always yearned for and couldn't think about anything else but restoring his new convertible.

The seats were certainly in not-so-good condition and the breaks were hard to control, but he didn't care, it would be fixed the next day anyway. He smiled in joy the first time in a week.

"I can't wait to tell Yu—" He stopped when he realized what he just said was impossible. His happiness faded. The car's radio was busted and old, but it still worked. He had to turn the wheel that changed the station a few times before it played his favorite radio station. It let out a rather static, fuzzy noise along with the music. Lavi exhaled loudly when he turned the steering wheel to the right as the car slowed down in front of his dormitory building. He sat there for a short time, listening to a ridiculously sad Radiohead song. When he realized that he needed to borrow Allen's shower and floor, he got out of the old-fashioned vehicle and bid it goodbye, a little sad about leaving it.

* * *

Kanda trembled when his opponent's strikes hardened. In spite wearing headgears, sweat trailed down on the side of his face. He held his breath. He stepped backwards and backwards—he was on the defensive. He was hardly ever on the defensive. The loud clunk the wooden swords would always make whenever they made contact panicked him and he would grit his teeth every time he barely even blocked an attack. It wasn't soon before long he was hit. Again. And he hated it.

"Halt!" a voice yelled. Shock was written all over the surrounding people's faces. Kanda couldn't believe it. He lost again.

The defeated boy froze on his feet, his heart pounding as blood rushed through his cheeks and ears. He looked down. He was hit on his left torso—a valid strike. The hands gripping on his _shinai_ trembled. The gym was silent as he lowered his sword and loosened his stance. The crowd was as surprised as him.

His shoulders jerked when his instructor called him. "That was the third time," the man said, obviously disappointed. "You were hit by Gil of all people."

The mentioned student felt slightly offended and retorted with a loud, "Hey!"

"You look troubled. Get some rest."

Kanda wanted to walk away before the pressure of the stares he was getting could eat him. He didn't respond and instead left the wide space to sit by the benches. His instructor just stared at him, scratching his head and wondering how he should deal with the boy.

"On the floor, Thompson!" the instructor ordered. Kanda didn't bother to watch and threw his headgear angrily on the floor. The other members of the club were wise enough not to approach him as they watched him throw different kinds of protective gear get thrown on the ground one after another.

He wiped his sweat off with a towel. Troubled? Oh, he was troubled alright. Kanda pressed his lips tightly together. He couldn't think about anything except that afternoon, that disturbing yet surprisingly lovely afternoon. Lavi was in love with him. Lavi was _in love_ with him. Of all the cheesy romance novels in the world, the person he was in love with was in love with him. A sustained, frustrated groan came out from his throat as he buried his face in his towel. It was embarrassing, acting like that. He still hadn't recovered from Lavi's confession, and six days had already passed. The amount of hatred he felt toward himself couldn't be measured and he mentally slapped himself many, many times for hitting the redhead that time.

What was he supposed to do back then? Kiss him back? Push him away? He was too much of an emotional wreck and anti-social bastard to do that. It was the last thing that he expected, and as reflex, he punched Lavi straight to the jaw. He wished he would have just pushed him away. It was the first time he actually felt bad for hitting a person. Anger, uncertainty, guilt, embarrassment, regret—he was experiencing way too many feelings that all the heat in his body traveled to his head. For a person who used to be incapable of feeling anything other than neutrality and other negativities, never had he encountered so many emotions at the same time. And he figured Lavi was the only one who could make him feel that way. Realizing he blew the chance and misdealt with Lavi's advances, he couldn't help but shiver profusely, his chest pounding rapidly. He buried his face in his towel again, hoping no one would notice his copiously red-tinted face.

"Goddamit." He sat down and massaged his wrists. It hurt a little after gripping the wooden weapon too hard.

He hadn't seen Lavi in what seemed like ages. And it bothered him to a great extent. It was hard to admit, even to himself, that he missed the redhead. He missed him so damn much. It angered him that Lavi didn't even bother to at least call him or apologize or try sorting things out. Instead, the blue-eyed boy came home in his dorm room one day to find out that a pillow and most of Lavi's clothes were missing. It was like a stab in the heart when the redhead moved out just like that. After a hard jab like that, no sane person would want to live under the same roof as him.

And now Lavi must've hated him. The thought of it scared him up to no end.

* * *

"Hey, kid, this looks bad," Lavi's basketball coach said with an ominous tone, clicking his tongue when he observed Lavi's right ankle for the second time. "It ain't a fracture, just a sprain. I'll get some guys to help ya to the infirmary."

Lavi was sweating non-stop, looking at his bruising ankle was just terrifying. He never had quite an injury before. The long, purple bruise was beginning to show below his anklebone. His breaths were ragged and he shut his eyes tight due to the severe pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw some of his teammates running toward him with worried expressions.

"We'll carry you to the infirmary, come on," Seth, one of his best basketball buds, said, putting one arm over his shoulders. His other arm was then grabbed by Evan, another of his buddies. "This is punishment for still getting an awesome car for cutting class."

"Thanks, man." Lavi couldn't say anything else and just smiled. He was too broken to come up with better replies. Not only was his jaw (and heart) injured, but his ankle just had to add up to the list of his painful body parts. He was being lifted up by the two guys. He cringed when he couldn't step on his right ankle and had to let it float, letting his left foot do all the work. He exhaled loudly to get rid of the tension.

"Don't worry, cap'n. Some ibuprofen and an ice pack would get rid of the pain. We'll help you get to the dorms, too, if you want."

Aside from his ankle, Lavi's whole body stiffened. "Now that you mention it," Lavi began. He smiled weakly to the guy on his right. "Mind if I stay at your place tonight?"

"Why? I'm sure Kanda would take care of you," Evan said reassuringly. "You're the only one who can live under the same roof as him."

"Yeah… that's kinda the problem. We're sorta in bad terms right now, so…" Lavi couldn't finish. His heart ached, more than his currently sprained ankle. "I don't want to trouble him."

Seth looked over to the injured captain to his right and caught a glimpse of the most heartbroken face he had ever seen from Lavi. He was sadder than all of those times he was dumped, rejected, or any of those tragic events. Showing genuine sympathy, Seth commented, "Whoa, man. I know you guys bitch all the time, but this… this looks like some big ass fight."

Helpless, injured, and being carried to the infirmary, Lavi managed to let out a pained, breathy laugh. "Yeah. You could call it that."

"What _did_ you do? Is this why you're out of it lately? You haven't scored a point in any of our friendlies these past few days."

"Everything was my fault." He stopped and found himself shaking. He tried his best not to let his voice crack. "I don't think he'd want to see me after what I did."

"Explain further." The two men carrying him replied simultaneously.

Lavi glared at the two. A man was about to cry and all they want was more details. "I ain't gonna explain shit. Could ya hurry up? My ankles are about fall off my shins."

"Well, a trip downtown wouldn't hurt your poor ankle, right? How 'bout you tell us everything later with a bottle of beer?"

"Drinking again, huh. I think it's time I should stop hanging out with you guys."

"I think it's time you should literally stop hanging on us and go to the infirmary by yourself."

"Man, ya can't take a joke, can you?"

* * *

**A/N: A gift before Christmas~**

**I'll be going to a bunch of secluded beach islands tomorrow so I rushed this before leaving. It's summer on my side of the world. Kinda. Well, no, it's actually pretty rainy. But still, the beach is still the beach., the sun is still the sun.**

**Hopefully, I can finish the next chapter soon. I'm excited to write the continuation. I'll type while I'm in the 10-hour bus ride or the 4-hour ferry ride.**

**Writing with the Water for Elephants and Ano Hana soundtrack is helpful. You should try it.**

**A bunch of happy comments about the story would be just heartwarming :')**

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  
**


	13. Nectareous

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**Let The Rain Fall, I Don't Care**

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* * *

**•**

**13. Nectareous**

**•**

* * *

"I'm gonna dance with the ladies, y'coming?"

"Nah. I'll stay here."

"Fine. Go ahead and sulk."

That certain club in downtown London had the hallmarks of every good bar in the world. The Gates of Hell was a place for the young and the hardcore. It was dark, overcrowded, and packed with students from all over the region. In spite of the club's demonic and evil name, the inside theme was sort of old and Gothic. On the walls were illuminated paneling perpendicular to the beer-stained, fake, stone-looking floor sheets. The ceiling was dominated by dynamic club light fixtures and was spreading the vibrant, neon colors all throughout the room. Brick cloisters hover above the bars and wine racks. The music, controlled by the DJ, was loud enough to make the ground shake.

On the east was a sleek vintage bar with two people sitting on tall, shiny stools that matched its color.

"Another shot of tequila and you're with Ms. Porcelain tonight," A certain redhead warned.

"You ain't a real man if you haven't hugged a toilet and gag in it all night long."

Except Lavi didn't want to be a real man. The fact that he wasn't a hundred percent sure if he was a man didn't necessarily help stop his strong intention of killing his liver with alcohol. He already spent a night with a toilet quite a few times, and it was not a very good experience. He just wanted to forget everything. He brushed his long bangs backward to look at the drunk, golden-haired, power forward named Evan Smith.

The blond continued and mumbled, "I've experienced it twice, man, bloody _twice_ goddamit." He seemed to be boasting, although it wasn't something to be proud of. "It felt like _shit_."

"You better go home, really," Lavi suggested. He wasn't as drunk as Evan and was sober enough to think reasonably. He learned how to control his intake and it sort of made him proud of himself. His other drinking buddy, Seth, was on the dance floor, pathetically hitting on uninterested women.

"Says the one who passed out and got picked up at 1 a.m. by his roommate who totally hates him right now," the man beside him slurred with a voice very different from normal. Evan was swaying on his seat, side by side and had eyes closing involuntarily every now and then.

Lavi's eye twitched at the guy's retort. Annoyed, he pursed his lips. He was willing to forgive the guy. The man was intoxicated and wasn't in the right mind. It would be harsh to blame him. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"And… and hurt his ankle 'cause—"

"Shut the fuck up, Smith. If I wasn't injured I'd kick your shit right now," Lavi snapped, taking a long swig from his bottle of beer. "Get your ass home."

"DUI, man. My license got lost three months ago and I cannot, for the love of God, find it anywhere—bloody _anywhere._"

"Suit yourself."

It took several more swigs of beer until Lavi's head began to spin. His vision resembled a sniper rifle's telescopic sight. Evan was on the verge of passing out, holding a half-empty beer mug while in a deep, deep trance. Seth came back to them a minute ago, slightly intoxicated, but was still in a stable state. It was one-thirty in the morning, but the club's youthful crowd became wilder and the room became darker. The lights dancing were in slow-motion in Lavi's eyes.

With both of them past their limits, Lavi had the urge to ask, "Aren't we suppose to go home now?" Evan didn't reply, still in a trance. Lavi was getting worried. He couldn't possibly drive him at his state. His car was in a middle of a restoration and he cannot risk driving it drunk. He intended to go home after a few drinks and stay at least partially sober, but the beer was getting more and more delicious after every bottle.

"I'm… prob… life can be… where should… m'dear?" Lavi threw Evan a confused look. Great, his companion was already sprouting gibberish. The redhead wasn't too drunk and could still think clearly, but he was getting dizzy and his sniper vision wasn't helping him maintain his balance.

"Evan, hey… don't pass out on me," Lavi ordered, jabbing the drunken man's shoulders. He looked around. The dance floor was full, and with the help of his sniper vision, he recognized some familiar faces of students, most of which probably didn't know him.

Evan was already asleep at that point. And Lavi tried his hard to regain his own consciousness every time sleep decided to overcome him. He needed to stay awake to get home. Keeping himself busy, he observed his surroundings. On the right of the bar were tables where young people sat, laughing boisterously while they drink. Lavi could tell they were from Black U. because of their I.D laces that they didn't bother to hide, probably to show that they were old enough to drink. He could hear their voices and couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"—and he was like, totally out of it, it's getting really annoying 'cause the girls flock to him like he's some sick puppy with parvo or some shit. But at least I get to beat him, I think, five times yesterday…"

Lavi swore he knew the voice, but didn't know the name. He looked where the voice was coming from and saw a bunch of his batchmates by the second table from the bar.

"Those guys… they're kendo members…" Lavi muttered to himself out loud, too intoxicated to keep his thoughts inside his head. "They probably know Yu…"

"—fucking bastard, right? What's so special about Kanda? I'm way better than that girly-faced son-of-a-bitch—"

Then, he lost it. He opened and closed his fist, itching to punch the guy. What was his name again? Lavi's growing anger didn't block the list of names he knew. Then, he remembered. Gil. Gil Freeman. That was the bastard's name. He could still hear Gil gloating and bad-mouthing Kanda. If he wasn't half-drunk he might had second thoughts about standing up and punching the guy.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Gil shouted out after taking a good hit. The guy asked who he was, but Lavi couldn't hear him. Without any hesitation, but with deep fury, he grabbed the guy by the collar and pulled him off his seat, shoving him to the ground. Lavi instantly toughened his fist, hitting Gil hard in the jaw. The music kept going and the crowd was busy enough to be able to ignore them. Gil's friends rushed to his side.

"Fuck!" the hurt man on the ground shouted in anger, caressing his swelling jaw. The lights were poor, so he couldn't recognize his attacker. But when the neon spotlights swiftly passed over Lavi's face, Gil immediately knew him. "Hey, you're that bastard's friend, huh? What? You heard me talking shit about your buddy? Well, fuck you both."

Being in a club that taught people how to fight, Lavi wasn't surprised Gil would lash back at him. He retaliated when Gil punched him back with ridiculous speed. The angry redhead was blinded with alcohol and his blood was boiling with rage, so Gil earned a point when he hit him on the side of the head. The surrounding people began to encircle them, some were asking them to stop but the rest was cheering and rooting for a winner.

The jab Lavi received made blood run from his nose, but he had already broken Gil's nose with his knee, so he was still a point higher. With a heavy grunt, Lavi yanked Gil's collar with his left hand and raised his right fist. He intended to completely shatter the man's nose and leave him bleeding in the bar. But two of Gil's friends grabbed his arms, and he was unable to move. Another guy approached him. Lavi recognized the guy.

Lavi's eye widened. "Shit—!" He knew the guy who hit him on the stomach, Érik Márquez. He was from the boxing club, so it hurt like hell. The men grabbing him allowed him to fall on the floor as he gasped for air, holding his punched sides. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_…" He needed to stand up. Those bastards were bad-mouthing Kanda. He wouldn't let them go out unscathed. He wasn't backing out, definitely not now. Trying his best to ignore the pain from his already painful ankle, face and stomach, he pushed himself up, grabbing his knees. A second later, Evan came to his rescue and gave a hit to one of the small fries, but the poor guy was wobbly from the alcohol and was easily attacked by the boxer, Érik, and sent him down to the floor, leaving him with a bloody nose, most likely broken.

"Evan!" the one-eyed yelled out to him.

Seth came next and tackled Érik, leaving him vulnerable. Lavi definitely wasn't in the boxing club, so when he made a hard hit to the boxing club member's face, with the help of Seth constraining the huge guy, he couldn't help but gloat with pride. Before Lavi could finish the rest of the small fries, the bar's bouncers came rushing through the crowd, stopping Lavi, and then knocked the guy unconscious.

* * *

Kanda was in the middle of a brainstorm as he changed his clothes in front of his dresser, putting on a light coat and a pair of boots, not bothering to tighten his ponytail that was about to go loose. It was nearly two in the morning. He definitely didn't expect a call at that hour, especially from Lavi's number. It wasn't like it never happened before, he just never thought it would happen again, especially when they were currently in bad terms. What was it called again? Was it "déjà vu" or something?

His phone was in manner mode so it took him a while before he noticed there were voice mails being recorded on his phone, although not made by Lavi, but thank heavens it wasn't. Seth's voice can be heard from the calls, sounding all tired and beat up. There were four voice mails in all.

"Please answer, man! This is an emergency! You need to pick up Lavi. We're downtown, the usual bar. We got into a fight with a bunch of guys. C'mon, Kanda, pick up—"

"Evan got a broken nose and I need to take the asshole to the hospital. Lavi's kinda… okay, though. We got an ice pack for him."

"Look, I know you don't wanna pick the guy up, heard you guys had a fight and crap. I don't exactly know what happened between you two, and I don't wanna sound meddlesome or anything, but if Lavi did something, you should forgive the guy. You know him better than we do, and you know he tends to act first without using that brain of his. He's been out of it for the past few days, sulking like bitch. The guy's really sorry for whatever shit he did. He's drunk. He's hurt. He needs you now, man. Oh, and, don't be surprised if Lavi's face is all bruised and bleeding. You can ask him why he got into a fight, I'm sure it'd be _really_ interesting."

"He left his bloody car here and I'm scared to fucking drive the thing! You know how to drive, right? Please pick up his car... but don't forget Lavi! I don't know who else to call. If I call Sir Bookman, he'd be in trouble, and he's already in disciplinary punishment."

The last one sounded too desperate, Kanda actually felt bad. But the third call hit him like an arrow. After hearing that, Kanda sent a text to confirm he was coming, and Seth texted back to say he and Evan had already gone to the hospital and that Lavi was in the back room, taking a rest.

Seth wasn't lying when Kanda found Lavi asleep on a couch with an ice pack covering his entire face. Kanda's heart started beating fast. What should he say? Should he wake him up? He was nervous as fuck, standing across where Lavi slept, keeping a moderate amount of distance between them. The first thing he should probably do was to wake him up. But doing that took most of his leftover courage.

"Lavi," he called out softly, kneeling on the floor adjacent to Lavi. "Wake up, idiot."

When it seemed like mere words wouldn't be able to wake the younger man up, Kanda raised his hand to remove the ice pack. "Lavi?" he called softly again, lifting the ice pack slowly from his face when Lavi suddenly gripped Kanda's wrist out of reflex.

His eye opened and Kanda was the first thing he saw. Lavi immediately let go and sat up, nervous and had no idea what he was doing. The both of them looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"I—I'm s-sorry! I thought… I was just—!" He had his hands in front of him, apologizing profusely, even though his face was swelling and his sides were aching. Kanda kept quiet and competently avoided looking at Lavi, failing to perceive the pain he was going through. "D-Did Seth call you…?"

"Your keys," Kanda said, not answering the question. He was just as nervous, unable to find words to say.

"My keys...?" He hazily fumbled for his keys and found it. Lavi apologized again, grinning uneasily, "I-It's okay! I'll drive...!"

He received a rather frightening glare. "Are you stupid? Look at you, you're fucking drunk." Kanda stood up, irritated. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

Lavi followed obediently like a tamed animal, not wanting to anger the man further.

The car ride home was more awkward than what they had both expected. Neither of them was intent on starting a conversation. Lavi, who would usually chat warmly about anything, was as quiet as a mouse, leaning by the window, staring technically at nothing because of the worsening English weather. It was pitch-black, together with the rain that was beginning to pour harder, the lights from the car the only thing illuminating the road.

The rain didn't help raise the mood. It wasn't strong enough to be considered as a storm, but it took a large toll in annoying Kanda. He couldn't see the road well, and they were almost in the road toward their secluded campus, which was known to be steep and dark, and very hard to drive on.

"Tch," Kanda clicked his tongue, finding it hard to maneuver the gear stick which was too loose for his taste.

"It's a bit wobbly, the car's still being fixed up."

Kanda's grip of the wheel tightened. He didn't expect him to talk. He didn't say anything else, though and just looked out the window. Kanda didn't know the car was vintage, so that was new information. That was why he was confused at first on why the wheel and gear stick were a little off.

The moment they reached the slippery lanes and pavements of their campus, Lavi shifted in his seat and spoke, "Just drop me off at the library. You can take the car to the dorm."

Kanda didn't reply. He stepped on the brakes all of the sudden. His head didn't turn, but his eyes looked at Lavi—all bruised up and pitiful. His voice had a hint of seriousness Kanda had never heard before, not even at that certain afternoon on the auditorium's rooftop. His voice was different, almost as if he was angry.

And it scared him somehow.

He shouldn't be the scared one. Kanda made the car move again. "This is your car. I can't—"

"It's okay," the persistent one said, gradually showing signs of bitterness. "The library's fine."

"No, it's _not_. It's two-thirty a.m." Kanda picked up the pace, getting a bit annoyed himself. Lavi's negativity was exceptionally contagious and the tension between them was getting worse.

His voice grew louder. "I don't want to stay at the dorms," Lavi said, straight to the point and obviously trying to hold back a shout.

"Why the hell not?" They were both bottling up their anger at that point. "Don't tell me you're staying at the fucking library."

Lavi didn't speak afterward and merely forced the vehicle to an abrupt stop by pulling the hand brake, causing them to shake forward. "Hey…!" Kanda yelled to him. Lavi opened the car door and got out.

Kanda watched as Lavi headed to the long path leading to the main library. He kept watching. He wished he could move his body to go out and pull him away from the rain. He wished he wasn't in such panic to the point where his thoughts were nowhere near arranged. Should he go after him? Should he go home without him? It was his chance to get it right. Was he stupid enough to let it pass?

And so, with ample bravery, Kanda stopped the engine, grabbed the umbrella hidden in the compartment and went out.

"You—!" He yelled out. He couldn't even believe what he was doing. He was chasing after a guy in the middle of a cobblestone road, under the cold rain, in the wee hours of the night. He walked quickly until he could catch up to Lavi, who didn't pay heed to him and kept walking with an injured ankle. He was slow and Kanda reached him in a matter of a second. The path was slippery, muddy, the kind Kanda would never thought he would run on. "Idiot, wait!"

By the time Lavi decelerated and stopped, he was already wet—his jacket soaked and his hair completely down, making it look longer than before. Kanda's umbrella was pretty useless already, now with Lavi now under it.

"What?"

Now that he was there in that situation, Kanda was back to zero. When Lavi asked him, his mind was in complete disarray that he wasn't capable of answering. What was he supposed to say? All he could see was Lavi's back. He couldn't even see the painful look on his black-and-blue face.

"Y-You're going to get a cold." Well, that was a sorry excuse for something to say. "S-Stop being so fucking stubborn. Let's go back."

"I told you I'm staying at the library."

"I won't go without you."

That confident little statement made Lavi turn gently to face Kanda. It seemed like ages since he last saw Kanda's face that close, maybe because it was too heartbreaking to look at him—someone so unattainable. Despite the frightening darkness, there were bright, yellow streetlights lining up the path, so he could still see the troubled features of the shorter man in front of him. It was the same for Kanda. He could see how Lavi's face was discolored horribly—a blue hue forming on the sides of his forehead, some on his cheek and a nasty cut on the eyebrow.

"Kanda..." Disbelief warred over him. Was Kanda really capable of saying such things? Lavi breathed out a slight chuckle. "I must be dreaming."

"You jerk," Kanda slurred, and then humbly repeated, "I said I won't go home without you."

"I don't get it. Don't you hate me?" Lavi asked, silence came next as Kanda was still unsure of what to say. "You've been avoiding me. I can't really blame you, though." He smiled, although it was barely cheerful.

Lavi was about to speak again, but Kanda cut him off. "_Look,_" he said sternly, capturing Lavi's full attention, "I'm not… good with words, you know that. I'm not like you, who can say whatever's on his mind. That's why…! I was scared that you hated me after what I—"

"I can never hate you."

Those simple words made the stones beneath Kanda's feet began to feel like air, pulling him down. When he said it like that, he couldn't figure out what his next move would be. It was too embarrassing. He didn't know what he looked like at that moment. He had no other view other than Lavi, and the expression the man was wearing was so unlike him—stalwart and unshakeable. "I-I backed out when you didn't. I had no idea you were… just like me… I just… didn't expect it… and… and… and…!"

"If I—" Lavi uttered, although softly, stopped Kanda completely. But it wasn't his words that rendered Kanda motionless. It was his hands—his left grabbing his shoulder and the other one seizing the hand holding their only protection from the rain. "If I kiss you right now, will you let me?"

Kanda's heart just popped. He was afraid if he could still make it through the night. The idiot kept saying words that never failed to play with his heart strings. He didn't even look away, he couldn't. His eyes were locked on the face he used to avoid. Firmly closing his eyes from embarrassment, he hesitantly nodded his head. He couldn't quit now.

Although on the outside, Lavi sounded all cool and confident, he was so scared on the inside that he couldn't even force himself to make the first move, even though he initiated it. He was so nervous; his body was literally shaking when he tried to close the distance between their bodies, putting them in a very close proximity. He pursed his lips and had to tilt his head to reach Kanda.

Their lips met. At first they froze, but they acknowledged the tension, then, a few breaths later, both of them began to relax, as they sighed into each other's mouth, their lips meeting impatiently over and over. It felt strange, especially for someone like Kanda. When Lavi's tongue darted out, Kanda's eyes widened and instinctively pushed Lavi away from him. The other man raised an eyebrow. Kanda looked so flushed. They were both soaked then, the umbrella practically neglected on the puddled ground.

Lavi's lips formed into a worried smile. "Is something wrong?" What he was doing was rather normal. Kanda just didn't know that.

"C-Can we go back to the car? It's g-getting cold." Lavi knew it was an excuse; although he wasn't sure if he was stuttering because he tried to make out with him or because it was actually cold. To be perfectly honest, in Lavi's eyes, the clueless man looked absolutely wonderful—all wet and embarrassed like that. Before he could properly answer, Kanda was already heading back to where they left the poor, red Impala.

As Kanda was about to go inside the driver's seat, the car door wouldn't open, even though he was sure he didn't lock it when he went out minutes ago. He was soaking wet and he wanted to go inside for shelter. He noticed his hair tie had gone missing when he stepped out and cursed the rain once more. He saw Lavi caught up soon, as he had a hard time walking. His heart seemed like it would burst out any moment.

"Your stupid car won't open!" He grumbled loudly so Lavi could hear, as the rain made it hard to hear.

Lavi opened the other door by the passenger seat. "That one locks on its own."

The drenched redhead gestured for Kanda to get in by the opposite door, and so he did. Kanda was still in the passenger seat when Lavi hopped in and leaned closer to him.

"W-Wait—!" Kanda shouted in surprise, interrupted by Lavi who had already caught him by the mouth. Lavi literally pushed the man beneath him down, until his head was resting on the other seat, making it comparable to a bed. Kanda knew what he wanted to do, so he kept his mouth closed, still fairly hesitant when Lavi kept sliding his tongue against the seal of his lips.

Lavi drew back slightly, looking displeased. "Yu…" He groaned frustratingly.

Kanda redirected his gaze away from Lavi, pursing his lips. He was so oblivious to these things that he was afraid he would mess up if he ever tried. Still persistent, Lavi leaned in and kissed him hurriedly. Kanda couldn't catch his breath, and his hands trying to push Lavi away trembled as he tried not to gasp, because if he did, Lavi would surely use the chance to force open his mouth. Lavi was pushed back again.

"You breath reeks of alcohol!" Kanda complained, although he shouldn't have the luxury to care.

"I've been drinking. I'll stop if you tell me to."

"Then, stop."

"Only if you let me kiss you."

"You already a—!"

Lavi cut him off and quickly leaned forward to steal a firm kiss. The unexpected move made Kanda's lips part almost against his will as he groaned irately. With Kanda caught off-guard, Lavi's tongue slid between his stubborn lips and began kissing him silly. He closed his eyes shut.

Kanda didn't have the chance to talk and went with the flow. He shivered, Lavi seemed like he had no intention of stopping. A moment later, Kanda's eyes opened wide when he noticed there was something causing bright glows not too far, yellowish lights coming their way. It was another car.

It stirred him and strongly pushed Lavi away. There was no way he would let anyone see them in that position. The half-drunk man detected the car too, as he hurriedly tried to sit properly on the passenger side, as Kanda did the same adjacent to him.

The car passed by them quickly. And it was quiet again.

They were both catching their breaths, panting, and not saying anything. If the rain wouldn't be so loud, they could probably hear each other's racing hearts as if it were to ignite any moment. Lavi banged his head against the back of the seat, catching Kanda's attention.

Lavi rubbed his face with his hands. "Ugh… Yu, I'm sorry. I-I couldn't help it."

If he was referring to his passionate kissing, Kanda was not sure how to answer. He didn't respond. He didn't react. He just rotated the keys and started the engine. Because he was completely fine with it, and there was no way he could say that aloud.

"Do—Do you want to go back?" Kanda asked, his voice low.

Lavi smiled and closed his eyes. "Maybe." The one on the driver side couldn't find himself to step on the clutch. "It stopped raining," Lavi added. Oh, what? Did he want to kiss in the middle of the street again? Kanda observed, and indeed it stopped. But that didn't change the fact that they were soaked to the skin.

Kanda undid the hand break that Lavi forcefully pushed earlier. He accelerated and drove slowly, as if he was afraid to reach their destination. Again, they didn't talk; it wasn't because of the unimaginable tension, but rather because their hearts were content. They don't need any more words.

Lavi hated the soundless atmosphere and turned on the worn-out radio. It let out nothing but static, only reminding Lavi that he needed to replace it with a new one soon. When he caught a station, familiar guitar riffs came out from the speakers. He knew the band and the song by memory but he didn't know the title. Lavi smiled contentedly and rested his head on the seat as he let Coldplay do all the talking with a slow, mellow song until they reach the dormitories.

They stopped at the parking space of the dorms. All the lights were out, which wasn't that all surprising when it was dawn. The engine was turned off, and the two drenched men stepped out. The rain didn't fully stop, still plummeting very light raindrops, creating a misty effect.

Lavi studied the building with a sigh. "It'd be better if we go by the back door. If the RA finds out, we're good as dead."

Kanda nodded and allowed himself to be led toward the back of the building. They were lucky the RA was nowhere inside and bypassed the noisy, squeaky stairs for the elevator; although the lift did ring out a loud ding when it reached the ground floor.

The shorter man stopped in front of their dormitory door and looked for his keys, searching in every pocket of his coat and pants. He whispered to himself, "Where did I put it…"

Lavi watched him for a few seconds before he grew impatient. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Kanda from behind, taking the man by surprise. Kanda protested in angry whispers telling him to stop. But he didn't, and instead breathed on his neck, warming the skin as he let it touch his lips.

Good god, Kanda's heart was about to be gashed out from his chest. His fingers shook when he found the keys, and took a long moment before he could insert it in the keyhole by the way his hands absurdly shook.

The second Lavi heard the lock released, he cracked the door open before Kanda could. There was a sudden stridency of footsteps with Lavi pushing both of them inside. And when the door was shut, he took Kanda by the shoulder and aggressively kissed him again. Kanda, all flustered and shaky, stepped on Lavi's bad ankle by accident, causing the man to groan in pain and lose his balance. They both fell toward the ground, and Kanda impetuously clung onto Lavi's shoulders as they let themselves collapse to the hardwood floor.

It didn't hurt as much as he thought he would, but Lavi still apologized. "S-Sorry! Are you alright?" He tried to decrease his weight on Kanda, bending his knees between the other man's right leg and resting his propped arms on the floor by either side of his head, practically trapping him. The lights were still off, so he couldn't see Kanda's expression clearly—who had his blue eyes looking straight at his, surprisingly not showing any hint of discomfiture.

"Can I kiss you again?" Lavi breathed hastily.

Kanda replied this time with a flat voice, "No one's stopping you."

He laid his back against the wooden flooring, as he grew more comfortable to Lavi's warmth against him. Lavi kissed him again for the hundredth time that day. This time, Kanda willingly opened his mouth for the other man. Lavi's hands balled into fists and pressed onto Kanda more. Moaning in each other's mouth, Kanda coiled his arms around Lavi's neck.

With strong arms securely wrapping around him and the enchanting mishmash of Kanda's surprisingly sweet, _sweet_ taste, his addicting scent that he was oh, so very familiar of, and the earthy whiff the rain gave off, Lavi was now sure he wasn't dreaming, nor was he hallucinating. The touches were real, although Kanda's skin felt rather cold than warm, he knew everything was real. The pain he was feeling on his sides was real. The bruises on his face was real. The pain when Kanda hit his ankle was real. The man under him was definitely real.

Yet it was so damn hard to believe.

"L-Lavi…?" Kanda pulled away from their sloppy kisses and questioned in surprise, almost with fear, when he suddenly felt Lavi's hands skimming under his clothes.

Lavi didn't stop though, and kept tracing Kanda's torso. "Just... let me touch you. I won't go any further. I promise." He leaned over to bite Kanda's neck, using his tongue to redden the skin and leave marks. Kanda muffled a groan and arched his back, not sure if he should make Lavi stop. Shifting his position, Lavi locked lips with him once more.

He wasn't drunk enough to take advantage of him. He wanted him—all of him, but he knew going further than a kiss would be plain recklessness. Sure, Lavi lusted for him, but the thing is—he loved him more.

* * *

**A/N: This is what happens when my playlist consists of Maroon 5, Aqualung, Lady Antabellum, Oasis, Coldplay, and Pearl Jam. I'm really sorry I almost forgot about this story. Had a lot of things going on right now, even though it's spring/summer break. I'm sure you crazy people enjoyed this as much as I do. I'll try updating faster, if possible. I'd also love to know what you think, negatively or positively ;) You know I you guys.  
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**I received, like, three PMs asking if I'll still update this. I couldn't reply, but here's your answer :) It's nice to know people still cared about this story and this pair even though we get shit from the manga right now.  
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******I will try to update the French fic later this week, too, hopefully. Although that one doesn't get much attention.**

**P.S. The song playing on the radio was "Yellow" if anyone's wondering.  
**


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